Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the annual expenditure on (a) fixtures and fittings, (b) general office expenses and (c) office equipment was of his (i) Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which his Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each English region and (4) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

Hilary Benn: DFID spent the amounts detailed in the UK as per the following table:
	
		
			£ 
			 Financial year Fixtures and fittings Office equipment General office expenses 
		
		
			 2002–03 23,798 44,216 2,370,312 
			 2003–04 30,744 109,568 2,784,152 
			 2004–05 64,123 92,832 3,033,851 
			 2005–06 (Forecast) 25,000 100,000 3,107,000 
		
	
	Information on these items of expenditure in overseas offices is not held centrally and cannot be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	DFID is responsible for CDC (formerly Commonwealth Development Corporation), a self-financing public corporation, based in London. The relevant figures for CDC are:
	
		
			£ 
			  Fixtures and fittings Office equipment General office expenses 
		
		
			 2003 219,400 5,400 301,900 
			 2004 123,100 2,400 164,300 
			 2005 (Forecast) 99,000 7,000 58,000 
			 2006 (Budget) 100,000 8,000 69,000

Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what initiatives are being taken in her Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

Harriet Harman: DCA offices and equipment are set out to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other general health and safety legislation such as Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations1999. Where an assessment of ergonomic risk is necessary, in such cases all assessments are conducted in accordance with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 as amended by the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002.
	Health and Safety audits and Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments are conducted on work stations as a matter of course, but should a member of staff feel that their 'work station' is not comfortable or their chair, desk or position of their computer terminal is causing discomfort to their back, they can request a DSE risk assessment. These assessments are conducted by trained assessors, who look to aid or prevent chronic back pain by ensuring that:
	the chair allows easy freedom of movement and a comfortable work position
	The chair has a definite lumbar curve, well padded seat. A seat which supports most of the thighs but turns downwards before it reaches the back of the knees
	If the individual has neck or shoulder tension, a long chair back is recommended—if the small of the back does not have sufficient support a lumbar roll will be obtained. Gliders or braked castors are needed on smooth floors.
	The armrests are height adjustable so they can support the elbows.
	the workstation provides sufficient space to find a comfortable position and allow for changes in position
	They advise the user to avoid awkward reaches, twisting to use the phone etc. Ensure there is enough legroom (at least 600 mm deep) and that the work surface should be at least 69 cm high and a maximum of 3 cm thick
	They advise the user on the guidelines of body posture, the most comfortable/correct height of the PC terminal and the recommended frequency of work breaks.
	Apart from office based staff, Court based staff (such as Solicitors, Barristers and Ushers) are cared for in the same way as set out above . . . as are the independent Judiciary. In addition to our Office and Court personnel, the DCA also employs people who deal with the more physical aspects of the Departments remit, such as Bailiffs, Security personnel and Enforcement/Fines Officers.
	Staff who have roles that may potentially have a detrimental effect on their back are given training on Manual Handling (including lifting, bending, twisting) and, for Bailiffs and Enforcement teams who go out into the community, training on Driving Skills (including posture), Control and Restraint, Arrest Techniques, Conflict Handling and any other training that will aid them in their role and reduce the risk of injury to their back is provided.
	In addition to explaining the Health and Safety requirements at Induction, delivering training to minimise the risk of causing or aggravating back pain and providing a robust Occupational Health provision (including a telephone Helpline) that can identify, reduce and then deal with 'back conditions', the DCA also proactively looks to reduce incidents and accidents that may cause chronic back pain by having:
	A dedicated Health and Safety unit that aims to ensure the DCA meets all of it's legal requirements
	Union (PCS) appointed Health and Safety Representatives that raise any possible issues that could have detrimental consequences on staff health
	Clearly visible posters, in offices, on the correct lifting and handling techniques' and the 'correct sitting posture'
	Notice Boards containing information and general tips on keeping the workplace clear of obstructions that can cause trip and slip accidents . . . which in turn can result in back pain.
	Work-Life Balance Policies that help staff deal with any back problems they may have by acknowledging that individuals, at all stages of their lives, work best when they are able to achieve a appropriate balance between work and all other aspects of their lives
	The option of joining the Beneden Healthcare Society, for the sum of £1.10 per week per person, staff can seek assistance in organising or paying for any medical treatment, including chronic back pain.
	The ability to access the Civil Service Benevolent Fund to help with any financial costs arising from any back condition
	The option of joining the CSSC Sports & Leisure Limited at a low monthly Subscription (£2.75 per month for 'Membership' and £5.50 per month for 'Membership Plus'), in order to get and stay fit and in turn reduce the risk of developing chronic back pain and/or alleviate some of the symptoms
	A dedicated DCA Welfare Service that supports and advises staff both during any absence from work and following their return.
	My Department aims to ensure that all staff are aware of their own personal responsibilities in taking care of their back, but should a member staff develop chronic back pain, as a Department, we aim to make sure the individual(s) concerned are supported and cared for.

Departmental Estate

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the former (a) buildings and (b) land of (i) her Department and (ii) (A) non-departmental public bodies, (B) agencies and (C) independent statutory bodies for which her Department is responsible which have been sold since 7 May 1997; what the sale price of each (1) was at the time of sale and (2) is at current prices; and whether the money accrued was (x) retained by her Department and (y) claimed by the Treasury.

Jim Knight: The information on sales of freehold land and buildings since June 2001 when DEFRA was created is set out in the following table. The Department does not hold information on current values and these could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The sales proceeds have been retained within the departmental limits agreed by the Treasury and therefore no excess funds have been claimed by the Treasury.
	
		
			 Department/NDPB/ Agency/ISB  Year  Building  Land  Sale price (£) 
		
		
			 DEFRA 2001–021, 2 Torry Laboratory Aberdeenshire — 750,000 
			   Crown House Maidstone Kent — 1,200,000 
			   — Brynsiencyn Oyster Station Gwynedd 2,000 
			   Stockbridge House Cawood North Yorkshire — 880,000 
			   Littlehampton Dwellings West Sussex — 2,788,000 
			   Brooklands Avenue Cambridge Cambridgeshire(5) — 5,250,000 
			   Long Benton Newcastle Tyne and Wear — 300,000 
			   Hoddesdon Buffer Depot Hertfordshire — 6,830,000 
			  
			  2002–03 Gunthorpe Buffer Depot Nottinghamshire — 160,000 
			   Bridgets Farm Martyr Worthy Hampshire (main part of site) — 4,000,000 
			   Harlescott Buffer Depot Shropshire — 1,802,000 
			   Castle House Stafford Staffordshire — 1,300,000 
			   Stockbridge House Dwellings Cawood North Yorkshire — 623,000 
			  2003–04 — Barnhall Wickford Essex 160,000 
			   Bridgets Farm Martyr Worthy Hampshire dwellings — 1,338,000 
			   Brooklands Avenue Cambridge Cambridgeshire(5) — 8,724,000 
			  
			  2004–05 Tattenhall Buffer Depot Cheshire — 361,000 
			   Bridgets Farm Martyr Worthy Hampshire (small part of site) — 10,000 
			   Worplesdon Surrey(6) — 329,000 
			   Kirton Lincolnshire dwelling — 68,500 
			   Boxworth Cambridgeshire dwelling — 165,500 
			  
			  2005–06 Efford Hampshire Lots 1 and 1A (part of site) — 1,402,750 
			   — Efford Hampshire Lot 4 (part of site) 150,999 
			   — Efford Hampshire Lot 5 (part of site) 65,000 
			   Throckmorton Worcestershire dwelling — 245,000 
			   Efford Hampshire dwelling — 152,000 
			   Boxworth Cambridgeshire dwelling — 400,000 
			   Bridgets Farm Martyr Worthy Hampshire (small part of site) — 760 
			  
			 NDPBs  None — — 
			  
			 Agencies  None — — 
			  
			 ISBs  None — — 
		
	
	(3) From 8 June 2001.
	(4) The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was created on 8 June 2001.
	(5) Part payment in respect of PFI deal.
	(6) Payment under clawback clause from original sale in 1999–2000.

Departmental Expenditure

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual expenditure on vehicles by (a) her Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) Executive agency and (iii) other public body for which she is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Jim Knight: Details of annual expenditure on vehicles are not held centrally for DEFRA and the bodies for which it is responsible, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Efficiency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the percentage change was in energy efficiency in (a) domestic buildings, (b) commercial buildings and (c) Government buildings between 2000 and 2005 (i) in total and (ii) in each year.

Elliot Morley: The tables give our best estimates of energy efficiency changes at the present time.
	However, only those for households represent proper energy efficiency improvements, based on summing the contributions made by individual technical measures such as insulation and high efficiency boilers and lights. The Government are extending this approach to the industrial and services sectors, but will require much more detailed data to produce reliable indicators.
	Historically, they have used change in energy intensity (i.e. energy per unit output—usually gross value added (GVA)) as a proxy for change in efficiency, while recognising that intensity change also includes structural change in business as well as change in demand for the underlying services provided by energy such as thermal comfort and illumination. Accordingly, comparisons at the moment between indicators for housing and for larger buildings are not meaningful.
	No data are available yet for 2005, nor GVA figures separately for the commercial and government subsectors for 2004.
	
		Percentage improvement in energy efficiency
		
			  Domestic 
		
		
			 2000–04 7.6 
			 2000–01 2.3 
			 2001–02 1.8 
			 2002–03 1.8 
			 2003–04 1.9 
		
	
	
		Percentage improvement in energy intensity
		
			  Commercial Government 
		
		
			 2000–03 11 20 
			 2000–01 2 2 
			 2001–02 9 12 
			 2002–03 0 6

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings of the EU (a) Committee on the Community action programme in the field of civil protection, (b) Committee on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances (Seveso II) and (c) Committee for the implementation of the Community framework for cooperation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution have taken place during the UK presidency of the EU; who was presiding over each meeting; what other UK representatives were present; what provisions were made for representation of the devolved governments; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: During the UK presidency the Committee of the Community action programme in the field of civil protection met on 20–21 October. The Committee was chaired by the European Commission and the UK was represented by a Cabinet Office official.
	The Committee on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances (Seveso II) met on 13 October. The Committee was chaired by a representative from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which, together with the Environment Agency (EA) and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, comprises the UK Competent Authority for the Seveso directive. Officials from the HSE and the EA attended and represented the UK.
	There was also one meeting of the Committee for the implementation of the Community framework for co-operation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution. The meeting was chaired by the European Commission. The UK representative was from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is the competent authority for dealing with marine pollution.
	The devolved Administrations are routinely asked to represent their views.

Leisure Boating

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions the Government have taken to help promote leisure boating on Britain's canals.

Jim Knight: The Department provides financial support for the three major navigation authorities to enable them to maintain their waterways in a suitable condition for recreational use such as boating. The Government's policy document on the inland waterways, "Waterways for Tomorrow" makes it clear that the Government wants to encourage people to use the waterways for leisure and that it will encourage their use for this purpose.

Sustainable Development

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been conducted by her Department of the (a) energy, (b) economic and (c) environmental effects of the production of biofuels from (i) energy crops and (ii) waste straw.

Elliot Morley: The effects of biofuels have been assessed under studies commissioned by DEFRA and DTI from Sheffield Hallam University and the Central Science Laboratory. These found that:
	(a) Biodiesel and bioethanol from energy crops can deliver greenhouse gas savings of at least 55 per cent. compared to fossil fuels. This can be increased to 80 per cent. if the energy used in production is from renewable sources. The technology to convert straw into bioethanol is at an early development stage but offers the potential for greenhouse gas savings of around 85 per cent. compared to conventional diesel.
	(b) The production of biofuels from UK biomass has a net beneficial impact on the UK economy due to the incomes that are generated in the agricultural, manufacturing, engineering construction, retail distribution and transport haulage sectors. There is additional employment where energy crops are grown on set-aside land as more labour is invested in crop production than in maintenance of set-aside. For oilseed rape, about two farming jobs are created (or sustained where crops substitute for other cultivation) for each 1,000 tonnes of biodiesel produced. Bioethanol production from wheat and sugar beet would generate around 5.5 jobs/1,000 tonnes of bioethanol production. For both energy crops and straw feedstocks, additional jobs would be created in biofuel processing. A 100,000 tonne biodiesel plant would employ around 62 staff in processing and blending industries. A similar sized bioethanol plant would employ 50–55 staff, plus a further 16–28 in fuel blending and transport. Cambridge University is currently carrying out a review of the farm level economic impacts of energy crop production, including the use of oilseed rape, sugar beet, wheat and straw for biofuel production.
	(c) The crop management of energy crops for biofuel use is broadly the same as that for food crops. Biofuels production from a mix of feedstocks and replacing crops for food would have a neutral effect on biodiversity.
	Any replacement of spring sown break crops with winter oilseed rape would have negative effect on crop diversity and farmland birds. If arable crops replaced natural-regeneration set-aside, this would reduce habitat diversity. The use of straw as a biofuel feedstock would not affect the environment significantly.

Aviation Policy/Safety

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Government have made of the effect of its aviation policy on the welfare of people who live (a) under and (b) close to flight paths; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The main impact on people living under or close to flight paths around airports relates to aircraft noise. There can also be impacts on local air quality around major airports as a result of air traffic and associated activities, such as road traffic travelling to and from the airport.
	A noise level of 57 dBA Leq (equivalent continuous noise level) over a 16 hour period is regarded as the threshold for the approximate onset of significant community annoyance. This figure was derived from government sponsored research in the 1980s, in particular "The United Kingdom Aircraft Noise Index Study" published by the Civil Aviation Authority in 1985.
	The Department publishes annual daytime noise contours covering 57 to 72 dBA Leq for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. These show the geographical area and estimated population numbers affected by this range of noise levels. Elsewhere it is the responsibility of individual airports to produce aircraft noise contours and a number of major airports do so.
	The Government have also sponsored research into the impact of aircraft noise on sleep. The former Department of Transport published in 1992, the "Report of a Field Study of Aircraft Noise and Sleep Disturbance". This study was and remains to date the largest survey of its kind in the United Kingdom. It was found that noise events below 90 dBA SEL (equivalent to about 80 dBA Lmax) were unlikely to affect average sleep disturbance rates, while events noisier than this gave a mean probability of disturbance of about 1 in 75, with a range of individual sensitivities around this average.
	Subsequent government sponsored research resulted in three reports concerning aircraft noise and sleep:
	"Adverse Effects of Night-Time Aircraft Noise", CAA, March 2000;
	"Aircraft Noise and Sleep 1999 UK Trial Methodology Study", Ian Flindell et al, November 2000;
	"Perceptions of Aircraft Noise, Sleep and Health", Ian Diamond et al, December 2000.
	Having considered these reports the Government decided—in 2001—to commission a major new study that would concentrate on subjective responses to annoyance to aircraft noise. This study is reassessing attitudes to aircraft noise—including re-assessment of the association between the Leq index and reported annoyance—as well as attempting to examine subjective valuation of the nuisance from aircraft noise. It is due to report later this year.
	The "Future of Air Transport" also sets out the impact of the Government's policies on air quality standards around airports, with further information contained in one of the supporting documents, "Air Quality Assessments Supporting the Government's White Paper". Although on a national scale the contribution of air transport and associated activities to local air quality problems are small, locally their effect can be significant. This is especially so at Heathrow and the reason why the Department has set up technical panels to review air quality issues at the airport as part of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow.
	Copies of reports referred to are available in the House Library and many can be accessed electronically on the Department's website at www.dft.gov.uk.

Bus Services (Lincolnshire)

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government financial assistance has been provided to (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire for the provision of bus services in each of the five most recent years for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: Local transport authorities make their own decisions on the level of support for bus services in their area. The Government's Revenue Support Grant is a major element in the resources available to them for this purpose. The following tables show expenditure by the two local authorities concerned on bus support and concessionary fares on local bus services:
	
		North East Lincolnshire £000
		
			   Bus support Concessionary fare reimbursement 
		
		
			 2000–01 128 452 
			 2001–02 75 497 
			 2002–03 76 710 
			 2003–04 334 786 
			 2004–05 350 647 
		
	
	
		North Lincolnshire £000
		
			   Bus support Concessionary fare reimbursement 
		
		
			 2000–01 705 403 
			 2001–02 789 556 
			 2002–03 725 579 
			 2003–04 783 478 
			 2004–05 616 588 
		
	
	Included in the figures for bus support is funding provided by this Department's bus grant schemes. The following table shows the total bus grant scheme funding allocated to both authorities since the introduction of the schemes in 1998:
	
		
			   £000 
			  North Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire 
		
		
			 Rural Bus Subsidy Grant 2,669 459 
			 Rural Bus Challenge 686 345 
			 Urban Bus Challenge — 376 
			 Kickstart — 523 
		
	
	In addition, all bus operators receive Bus Service Operators Grant, reimbursing the major part (currently 80 per cent.) of the fuel duty paid in operating local services.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what formal contractual arrangements are in place between the European Aviation Safety Agency and national aviation authorities in EU member states to plan and manage technical resources.

Karen Buck: The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have established framework contracts under a common format with the majority of national aviation authorities, the object of which is, for a period of three years following signature, to:
	"assist the European Aviation Safety Agency in the execution of its tasks in the fields of certification, as specified in article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002."
	The framework goes on to make clear that:
	"Signature of the contract imposes no obligation on the parties to purchase or provide services. Only implementation of the contract through order forms and specific contracts is binding on the parties."
	The framework contract between EASA and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was signed on 1 June 2005. Subsequently EASA have issued order forms for the provision of technical assistance for limited periods of up to three months. The CAA currently has an order covering January and February 2006.
	The framework contract does not provide for the planning or management of technical resources, other than to meet regularly in a review capacity. In practice EASA and the CAA meet monthly to exchange information pertaining to these issues.

Operator Licensing System

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 226W, on the Transport Commissioners, when he plans to make a statement on the consultation paper on proposals for modernising and streamlining the operator licensing system.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 188WS.

Railways

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of passengers who will be using railways in Great Britain by 2014.

Derek Twigg: The Department's published projections for rail use are expressed as passenger kilometres rather than numbers of passengers. Current projections are set out in the paper "The Future of Transport: Modelling and Analysis" published on 21 March 2005 which is available on the Department's website. The central projection shows rail passenger kilometres increasing by 33 per cent. between 2000 and 2010 and by 1.3 per cent. a year from 2010 to 2025.

Stage Cottage (East Sussex)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Highways Agency has to rent out Stage Cottage, Hurst Green, East Sussex following its purchase under a compulsory purchase order in 2005.

Stephen Ladyman: A compulsory purchase order has not yet been published for this scheme. This was a discretionary purchase at the owner's request. The Highways Agency is making arrangements through its managing agent to rent out this property as soon as possible.

Unlicensed Taxis

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of unlicensed taxis operating in (a) England and (b) Leeds North West.

Karen Buck: We have made no estimate of the extent of unlicensed taxi operation either in England as a whole or in particular local areas. However, relevant data is held by the Court Proceedings Database of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Taxis in England must be licensed by the relevant local authority under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Individuals who attempt to provide a taxi service without being properly licensed normally do so by contravening section 45 of the 1847 Act by illegally plying for hire or section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 by touting.
	The Court Proceedings Database shows the numbers of offenders found guilty of offences under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (wider than just illegal plying for hire) and s167 of the 1994 Act are as follows; these data are provided on the principal offence basis.
	In 2004, 215 people were found guilty of offences under sections 40–68 of the 1847 Act in England; 16 people were found guilty of these offences in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area.
	In 2004, 311 people were found guilty of offences under s167 of the 1994 Act in England; none of these offences were in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area.

Conference Attendance (Costs)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff (a) from the Valuation Office Agency, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) his Department will attend the (i) Mass Appraisal Valuation Symposium in Vancouver on 6–7 February, (ii) Integrating GIS and CAMA Conference in Orlando, Florida on 19 to 22 February and (iii) International Property Tax Institute International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August; and what the total estimated cost to the public purse will be of attendance at each of the events.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of staff attending 
			  VGA HMRC HMT Estimated cost (£) 
		
		
			 Event 
			 Valuation Symposium Vancouver February 2006 1 0 0 1,000 
			 GIS/CAMA Conference Florida February 2006 1 0 0 1,000 
			 IPTI Conference Kuala Lumpur August 2006 1 0 0 1,000

Electoral Administration/Registers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the registration rate is in each ward of each constituency in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Scotland, listed in descending order and grouped according to region.

John Healey: holding answer 12 January 2006
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006
	As National Statistician, 1 have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the registration rate in each ward of each constituency in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Scotland listed in descending order and grouped according to region.(41187)
	I attach tables giving a comparison between the number of registered electors and the estimated population for wards in each parliamentary constituency in England and Northern Ireland. Data for Scotland are not currently available. Because of the length of the tables they have been provided in electronic format and will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	It should be borne in mind that the percentage of the resident population who are registered to vote does not provide a reliable estimate of the registration rate of the eligible population. This is mainly because there are definitional differences between "usually resident" and eligibility to vote and therefore the estimated resident population aged 18 and over is not the same as the number of people eligible to vote. For example, the resident population includes all those who usually live in an area irrespective of nationality whereas the parliamentary electorate excludes foreign nationals (but Commonwealth and Irish citizens are included) and may include some overseas electors who do not currently live in the area. Further, there is inevitably some double counting of the registered electorate and this can occur for a number of reasons. People who have more than one address, including students, may register in more than one place. Electoral registration officers may vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or after they have died.
	Table 1 contains data for England. The closest available geography to current electoral wards, for which population estimates are available, is Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards. This geography was created for outputs from the 2001 Census and is based mainly on 2003 electoral wards. The electorate counts are on electoral ward boundaries and it has been necessary to convert these to the CAS ward geography.
	The latest available population data available at ward level are for mid-2002, published in April 2005. The ward electorate counts are for December 2002 parliamentary electors, including attainers. The parliamentary electorate has been used rather than the local government electorate even though the latter is definition ally closer to the resident population because the local government electorate is not available at ward level. No adjustment has been made to reflect the difference between these two time points. There are a number of wards that are split by parliamentary constituency i.e. they fall within two or more parliamentary constituencies. These are shown by an asterisk * alongside their ward name, and appear under both constituencies. Electorate and population figures for the whole ward are shown. Some wards will therefore be double counted. It is not possible to split the data for these wards.
	The population data are estimates and as such are subject to a margin of. confidence. This margin of confidence is proportionately larger for ward level estimates than for local authority level estimates. The GAS ward level population estimates have been published with the status of "experimental statistics". Therefore, the estimates, and figures derived from them, should be treated with some care.
	There are a relatively small number of wards (19) where the electorate counts are more than 10 per cent. greater than the population estimate. These cases are attributable to definitional differences between the estimates and electoral counts, the margin of confidence in the ward estimates, the accuracy of the electoral registers and limitations in the methodology used to convert electoral counts to the GAS ward geography.
	Table 2 contains data for total electorate for electoral wards in Northern Ireland. The latest available population data available at ward level are from the 2001 Census, taken on 29 April 2001. The ward electorate counts are for 15 October 2001 and include all those registered to vote in any election. These counts do not exclude foreign nationals but do include electors. No adjustment has been made to reflect the difference between these two time points.

Family Size

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in the United Kingdom there are with (a) one child, (b) two children and (c) five or more children, broken down by ethnic group.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many families in the United Kingdom there are with (a) one child, (b) two children and (e) five or more children, broken down by ethnic group in the UK. (42905)
	Specially commissioned table C0613 has been run to identify the number of families in the United Kingdom with (a) one child, (b) two children and (c) five or more children, broken down by ethnic group. This table can also be obtained via a request to: Census.customerservices@ons.gsi.gov.uk
	The table counts all families with children (dependent and non dependent) and the ethnic group is that of the family reference person.
	For definitions of variables used to create the counts, see the footnotes appended to the table.
	
		Table C0613: Count of families by number of children in families by ethnic group of family reference person Population: families
		
			 United Kingdom White Mixed Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian 
		
		
			 One child 5,282,575 39,559 115,892 62,885 22,769 26,071 
			 Two children 3,197,289 23,501 86,314 48,177 18,283 19,086 
			 Five or more children 53,139 896 1,585 7,914 3,906 847 
		
	
	
		Population: families
		
			 United Kingdom Black Caribbean Black African Other Black Chinese Other Ethnic group Total family reference persons 
		
		
			 One child 86,929 46,956 9,925 22,671 20,686 5,736,918 
			 Two children 41,817 30,934 5,349 14,935 14,537 3,500,222 
			 Five or more children 948 2,327 226 238 594 72,620 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Cells in this table have been randomly adjusted to avoid release of confidential data.
	2. The table counts all families with children (dependent and non-dependent) and the ethnic group is that of the family reference person.
	5.43 Family
	A family comprises a group of people consisting of a married or cohabiting couple with or without child(ren), or a lone parent with child(ren). It also includes a married or cohabiting couple with their grandchild(ren) or a lone grandparent with his or her grandchild(ren) where there are no children in the intervening generation in the household. Cohabiting couples include same sex couples. Children in couple families need not belong to both members of the couple.
	5.44 Family Reference Person (FRP)
	In a Lone parent family, the family reference person (FRP) is taken to be the lone parent in a lone-parent family. In a couple family, the FRP is chosen from the two people in the couple on the basis of their economic activity (in the priority order; full-time job, part-time job, unemployed, retired, other). If both people have the same economic activity, the FRP is identified as the elder of the two or, if they are the same age, the first member of the couple on the form.
	5.18 Child
	There is no age limit on the term child. For example, a married couple living with their son aged 40 would be classified as a family consisting of a married couple and their child unless the son has a spouse, partner or child living in the household.
	5.31 Dependent child
	A dependent child is a person aged 0–15 in a household (whether or not in a family) or aged 16–18 in full-time education and living in a family with his or her parent(s). This is a change from the 1991 definition which was a person aged 0–15 in a household or a person aged 16–18, never married, in full-time education and economically inactive. The revised 2001 definition has been agreed following consultation with users. An 'adult' in a household is any person who is not a dependent child.
	Source:
	2001 Census.

Film Industry

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax reliefs were available for the film industry in each year since 1997; what the cost was in each year; and what assessment he has made of the contribution made by the film industry to the economy in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 17 January 2006
	With regard to tax relief available to the film industry, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 8 December 2005, Official Report, column 1823.
	The information is not available to assess the overall contribution to the economy of the UK film industry, however the UK Film Council publishes statistics including the value of British film productions. These can be found in the UK Film Council's "Statistical Yearbook 2004–05", at Chapter 12.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit overpayments were (a) disputed and (b) successfully disputed in each month from January to December 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of overpayments disputed, and successfully disputed, between 1 January 2005 and 31 May 2005:
	
		
			  Year 2005 Number of overpayments disputed Successfully disputed(21) 
		
		
			 January 18,500 3,000 
			 February 23,500 2,500 
			 March 42,000 2,500 
			 April 34,500 1,000 
			 May 21,500 26,500 
			 June 28,000 47,500 
			 July 35,000 20,000 
			 August 30,000 24,500 
			 September 30,000 18,000 
			 October 33,000 11,500 
			 November 32,000 4,000 
		
	
	(21) Figures are the number of overpayments remitted in the corresponding month and is not a count of the number of claimants that successfully disputed an overpayment. The figures do not directly relate to the disputes that were received in the same month.
	Notes:
	1. Figures rounded to the nearest 500.
	2. Figures for December 2005 are not yet available.

Tax Receipts

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether data relating to tax receipts is available broken down by category of economic activity.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on tax receipts are published annually in the National Accounts Blue Book by the Office for National Statistics (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Produrt.asp?vlnk=l143&More=N). Table 11.1 shows taxes paid by UK residents to general Government and the European Union and "The Supply and Use Tables" (Table 2.1) show taxes less subsidies on production by industry group. Monthly figures for central Government taxes on production, taxes on income and wealth, and other taxes are shown in the Public Sector Finances release (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=805&Pos= &ColRank=l&Rank=422).

Wage Inflation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average increase in wage inflation was in each year since 1996–97.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the average increase in wage inflation was in each year since 1996–97. (42843)
	Growth in earnings is estimated from the Annual Earnings Index (AEI) which is the National Statistic for short term economic earnings indicators. The AEI figures for Great Britain are collected and published monthly. The AEI does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach a table showing the growth in average earnings in Great Britain from 1996 to 2004. The annual growth figure for 2005 will not be available until 15 February 2006 when the December 2005 figures are published.
	The monthly changes to the index and growth are published on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/tsdtablesl.asp?vlnk=emp. Calendar year comparisons are available on request.
	The AEI is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in Great Britain. Each month it surveys 8600 companies, covering 12 million employees.
	
		Annual Earnings Index Including bonuses, excluding arrears
		
			 2000=100 Index Annual growth percentage 
		
		
			 1996 83.3 3.6 
			 1997 86.8 4.3 
			 1998 91.3 5.1 
			 1999 95.7 4.8 
			 2000 100.0 4.5 
			 2001 104.5 4.5 
			 2002 108.2 3.6 
			 2003 111.9 3.5 
			 2004 116.7 4.3 
		
	
	Note:
	All figures based upon the calendar year.
	Source:
	Annual Earnings Index, Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of (a) unemployment, (b) long-term unemployment and (c) youth unemployment was in Westmorland and Lonsdale in each year since 1997; and how many individuals this represented in each case.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment, (43385)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1 shows unemployment rates for people resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale Parliamentary Constituency. The table covers the 12 month periods ending in February each year from 1998 to 2004. These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to sampling variability. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution. Sample sizes in this Constituency are too small to produce a time series of estimates for either long-term or youth unemployment.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 2 shows the annual average number and proportion of resident working age population of all JSA claimants, those claiming for over 12 months and those aged 18 to 24, resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency since 1997.
	
		Table 1: Unemployed persons resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency
		
			  All 
			 12 months ending February: Level (Thousand) Rate (Percentage) 
		
		
			 1998 (22)— (22)— 
			 1999 1 3 
			 2000 1 3 
			 2001 2 5 
			 2002 2 5 
			 2003 (22)— (22)— 
			 2004 2 4 
		
	
	(22) Estimate not available, sample size less than three could be disclosive.
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey.
	
		Table 2: JSA claimants resident in the Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency
		
			  All Long-term  (claiming over 12 months) Youth (aged 18 to 24)(23) 
			 Annual averages Level Proportion(24) (Percentage) Level Proportion(24) (Percentage) Level Proportion(24) (Percentage) 
		
		
			 1997 957 1.9 165 n/a 245 n/a 
			 1998 753 1.5 90 n/a 190 n/a 
			 1999 679 1.3 75 n/a 155 n/a 
			 2000 569 1.1 55 n/a 130 n/a 
			 2001 463 0.9 20 n/a 115 n/a 
			 2002 372 0.7 15 n/a 90 n/a 
			 2003 382 0.8 20 n/a 85 n/a 
			 2004 328 0.6 15 n/a 70 n/a 
			 2005 296 0.6 15 n/a 75 n/a 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(23) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to nearest 5 for disclosure control.
	(24) Proportion of the resident working age population. Denominators based on 2001 census data adjusted to be consistent with 2001 mid-year population estimates for local authorities.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on (a) foreign travel, (b) subsistence and (c) hospitality in each year since 1997–98.

Dawn Primarolo: The Valuation Office Agency spent the following amounts on foreign travel, subsistence and hospitality in the years 2000–01 to 2004–05.
	
		
			£000 
			  Foreign Travel Subsistence Hospitality 
		
		
			 2000–01 n/a 1,050 5 
			 2001–02 n/a 1,041 4 
			 2002–03 3 1,040 7 
			 2003–04 20 1,164 6 
			 2004–05 4 1,255 6 
		
	
	Records prior to 2000–01 are not readily available.

Gender Pay Gap

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to address the gender pay gap.

Meg Munn: Government have taken various measures to tackle the gender pay gap, including the creation of the Women and Work Commission, and I look forward to their final report within the next few weeks containing their findings and recommendations to close the gender pay gap.
	We have also introduced and raised the national minimum wage, which has helped increase the pay of women. In October we increased the national minimum wage to £5.05. Around 70 per cent. of the beneficiaries of the uprating of the national minimum wage in October 2004 were women.
	Other measures we have introduced to reduce the gender pay gap include the DTI Strategic Partnership initiative supporting a team of Equal Pay Panel of Experts, led by the TUC. The experts will offer free advice/guidance sessions to organisations looking to investigate or undertake an equal pay review. This initiative builds on the TUC Equal Pay project, which has trained over 400 union equal pay reps.

Workplace Rights

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes to workplace rights since 1997 will be in place by 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In addition to creating record levels of employment, we have also introduced a safety net of protections for the most vulnerable employees. The most significant include, paid holidays, measures to support working parents, age discrimination regulations and the national minimum wage.
	In addition my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has today announced the appointment of Paul Myners as Chair at the Low Pay Commission, who is replacing Lord Turner of Ecchinswell.
	Regulation has its place, but of key importance is to encourage cultural change to make working smarter, not harder. We will continue to build on our achievements so that people at work can develop their skills and have the opportunity to maximise their potential, and will ensure that flexibility works for both employees and businesses.

Footwear Manufacturing (Northamptonshire)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make an economic assessment of the Northamptonshire footwear manufacturing industry.

Alun Michael: We have no plans to make a separate economic assessment of the Northamptonshire footwear sector. The hon. Member raised this issue in the House on 21 July 2005 when he was invited to write to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry setting out the case for such an assessment.

Biomass (Funding)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been made available to develop markets for biomass in (a) heat, (b) combined heat and power and (c) power generation in each of the last 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: Market development for biomass is supported in a variety of ways, not all of which involve direct funding e.g. bioenergy projects have been developed on the basis of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and the Renewables Obligation.
	The most relevant direct funding has been through projects under the DTI New and Renewable Energy [Research and Development] and the DTI/Big Lottery Fund Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme. The following table gives the combined spend directly addressing the requested categories to December 2005.
	
		New and Renewable Energy / Capital Grants Scheme £
		
			  CHP Heat Power Total 
		
		
			 All years 4,330,485 1,699,505 5,666,471 11,696,462 
			 1995–96 230,852 70,273 179,264 480,389 
			 1996–97 223,211 127,885 365,556 716,652 
			 1997–98 176,162 254,989 232,509 663,659 
			 1998–99 196,264 193,568 115,330 505,163 
			 1999–2000 139,831 147,174 414,073 701,078 
			 2000–01 235,995 164,947 228,088 629,030 
			 2001–02 124,377 107,556 460,795 692,728 
			 2002–03 303,979 23,598 353,318 680,895 
			 2003–04 582,576 99,618 332,694 1,014,888 
			 2004–05 1,862,276 293,204 151,640 2,307,120 
			 2005–06 254,964 216,691 3,058,205 3,529,861 
		
	
	There has also been spend on biomass heat under the DTFs Clear Skies Initiative, which has been running since 2003. The total spend since the programme began is £1,499,390 [breakdown into individual years could have been achieved only at disproportionate cost.]
	Additionally there has been funding of £60,000 during year 2004–05 from Defra's Community Energy Programme on biomass/CHP schemes. This programme started in year 2001–02, but there was no spend on biomass CHP before 2004–05.
	The above figures do not include any support from the Devolved Administrations or the Regional Development Agencies—which could have been reported only at disproportionate cost.

CREST Scheme

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many pupils have taken part in the British Association's CREST scheme for gifted and talented young people, broken down by local education authority; what other national schemes for gifted and talented young people are supported by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The CREST scheme is delivered through SETNET's sub regional network of SETPOINTS. The number of awards presented since the inception of the scheme in 2001 has been broken down by region and is presented in the following table.
	
		
			 Region Number of awards 
		
		
			 North-West 17,016 
			 North-East 2,932 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 921 
			 Greater Merseyside 25,954 
			 West midlands 18,726 
			 East Midlands 5,408 
			 Eastern 7,833 
			 London 3,246 
			 South East 5,144 
			 South West 8,289 
			 Wales 8,722 
			 Scotland 2,869 
			 Northern Ireland 10,433 
			 Total 117,493 
		
	
	Information on uptake of the BA CREST awards by local education authority is not collected. The CREST scheme is not specifically targeted at gifted and talented young people, although many gifted and talented young people participate. There are a number of other schemes that fit into this category delivered through organisations supported by core funding from the Department.
	The Royal Academy of Engineering runs the Best programme, which includes four schemes which provide personalized learning opportunities for gifted and talented students: the Engineering Education Scheme, Headstart, Year in Industry and the Engineering Leadership Award. In addition to these schemes the Academy also collaborates with the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.
	The Research Councils support BA CREST and Nuffield Science Bursaries. Nuffield Science Bursaries give post-16 students science based projects lasting 4 to 6 weeks during the summer holidays. These projects are carried out in universities, industry and research institutions and students work alongside researchers.
	SETNET delivers 32 key national schemes, including those already discussed, comprehensive details are available on their website at http://www.setnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/resources/index.html

Departmental Estate

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) land and (b) property is owned by his Department in Castle Point.

Alan Johnson: The DTI administrative estate does not include any land or property in the Castle Point constituency.

Hydroelectric Power (Wales)

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of electricity supplied to consumers in Wales was produced from hydroelectric power in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much and what proportion of electricity supplied to consumers in Wales was produced from (a) renewable energy sources and (b) wind power in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The majority of the electricity generated in Wales is supplied to the national grid system that covers England, Wales and (since 2005) Scotland. Since there is a two way movement of electricity between England and Wales using the grid it is not possible to say how much and what proportion of electricity supplied to consumers in Wales is produced from a particular source.
	However, information on generation by country is available and has been published by this Department in "Energy Trends". Data for Wales for the years 2001 to 2004 are shown in the following tables. Data are not available before 2001.
	
		GWh
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Hydro 259 273 201 305 
			 Wind, wave and solar 337 376 378 547 
			 Other renewable sources 113 132 201 192 
			 Total renewables 709 782 780 1,044 
			 Total generation in Wales 28,986 32,067 30,054 35,235 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Hydro 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.9 
			 Wind, wave and solar 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.6 
			 Other renewable sources 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.5 
			 Total renewables 2.4 2.4 2.6 3.0 
			 Total generation in Wales 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Wave Power

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has conducted on the effectiveness of the (a) oscillating water column and (b) superbuoy wave power installations.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 1976 the DTI and its predecessor the Department of Energy has supported the following oscillating water column research projects:
	
		
			  File number  Project title  Contractor  Start date  End date DTI/DEn Spend (£) 
		
		
			 V/01/00004/00/00 Development of Oscillating Water Columns National Engineering Laboratory 1 April 1976 31 March 1978 1,898,645 
			 V/01/00045/00/00 Feasibility Study of the Wells Oscillator Queens University of Belfast 1 January 1979 31 October 1979 50,150 
			 V/04/00147/00/00 Consultancy on Review of NEL Oscillating Water Column Device (OWC) National Engineering Laboratory 22 August 1990 22 July 1991 17,500 
			 V/03/00157/00/00 Wave Tank Testing of Wave Power Collectors Wavegen 1 September 1991 31 May 1992 49,324 
			 V/03/00162/00/00 Costing and Assessment of Art OWC Advanced Mechanics and Engineering Limited 3 August 1992 30 April 1993 23,260 
			 V/02/00174/00/00 Assessment of Art Osprey, Tow-Out and Turbine Wavegen 1 December 1993 31 March 1994 11,850 
			 V/06/00180/00/00 Wave Energy Conversion: Wavegen Project Development Conversion Wavegen 1 February 2000 31 January 2002 34,500 
			 V/06/00183/00/00 Research into the Further Development of the Limpet Shoreline Wave Energy Plant Wavegen 12 June 2000 11 June 2002 231,703 
			 V/06/00190/00/00 Prolongation of Deployment and Monitoring of 'SPERBOY' Wave Energy Device University of Plymouth 1 April 2001 31 March 2002 49,803 
			 V/06/00196/00/00 The Potential for Using Disused Coastal Mineshafts to Exploit Wave Energy Wardell Armstrong International Ltd 1 August 2001 31 July 2004 114,479 
			 V/06/00201/00/00 Near Shore Floating OWC—Prototype Development and Evaluation Wavegen 1 January 2003 31 July 2004 67,820 
			 V/06/00202/00/00 Near Shore Floating OWC—Power Take—Off System Wavegen 1 January 2003 30 June 2005 131,500 
			 V/06/00201/00/00 Near Shore Floating OWC—Prototype Development and Evaluation Wavegen 1 January 2003 31 July 2004 67,820 
			 V/06/00202/00/00 Near Shore Floating OWC—Power Take—Off System Wavegen 1 January 2003 30 June 2005 131,500 
		
	
	DTI is not aware of any wave power device called "superbouy". However, DTI has funded a project concerning a device called "Sperboy" carried out by the University of Plymouth. This was: V/06/00190/00/00, Prolongation of Deployment and Monitoring of 'SPERBOY' Wave Energy Device. Details of this project are included in the table.

Aspartame

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated by her Department on the potential dangers to health from the inclusion of aspartame in foodstuffs; and if she will list make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Aspartame was first reviewed in 1982 by the United Kingdom's Committee on toxicity, consumer products and the environment (COT), a committee of independent experts who advise the Government on the safety of food chemicals. New data on aspartame was reviewed by COT in 1992 and the UK Committee on the carcinogenicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment (COC) in 1996. The COT was satisfied that aspartame was acceptable for use in food and the COC considered there was no link between brain tumors and aspartame.
	In 2001, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on food (SCF) revisited its previous safety assessment of aspartame and concluded that there is no evidence to suggest a need to revise the outcome of their earlier risk assessment.
	In July 2005, the COC considered the findings of a study published by the Ramazzini Institute on the potential carcinogenicity of aspartame. The Committee made initial observations on the data and noted the data will be fully evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority. The Food Standards Agency will consider its position on aspartame in light of the advice from EFSA, when this is received.

Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff there were in the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust in each year since its creation.

Jane Kennedy: The latest figures available for national health service staff in the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust by main staff group for the years 1994 to 2004 are shown in the table.
	
		NHS staff in the Hammersmith hospitals NHS Trust by main staff group as at 30 September each specified year Headcount
		
			  1994(25) 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust total 4,791 4,609 4,209 4,316 4,242 5,322 5,404 5,804 5,805 5,726 6,146 
			 
			 Medical and dental staff 818 743 737 781 524 548 751 812 913 911 953 
			 
			 Non-medical staff total 3,973 3,866 3,472 3,535 3,718 4,774 4,653 4,992 4,892 4,815 5,193 
			 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff total 2,163 2,265 1,930 1,920 2,079 2,838 2,762 3,017 2,879 2,850 3,048 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 1,658 1,645 1,352 1,337 1,481 2,161 2,095 2,345 2,178 2,034 2,210 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff total 505 620 578 583 598 677 667 672 701 816 838 
			 Qualified allied health professionals 243 229 205 199 218 222 208 213 213 254 265 
			 Other qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 262 391 373 384 380 455 459 459 488 562 573 
			 
			 Support to clinical staff total n/a 956 983 1,074 1,057 1,382 1,306 1,380 1,343 1,325 1,471 
			 Support to doctors and nurses n/a 765 776 873 882 1,174 1,042 1,123 884 862 979 
			 Support to ST&T n/a 191 207 201 175 208 264 257 459 463 492 
			 
			 NHS infrastructure support total n/a 644 555 537 577 552 574 583 658 626 658 
			 Central functions n/a 367 308 304 334 313 361 369 403 379 405 
			 Hotel, property and estates staff n/a 163 147 136 122 118 98 94 123 96 94 
			 Managers and senior managers 90 114 100 97 121 121 115 120 132 151 159 
			 
			 Other and unknown total 0 1 4 4 5 2 11 12 12 14 16 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(25) A new system for coding the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995. 1994 figures are not directly comparable with later years.
	Sources:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Mental Illness

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the Department collects on the ethnic origin of patients treated for mental ill-health in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of discharges from national health service hospitals with a primary psychiatric diagnosis, by ethnic origin, East London and the City Mental Health Trust, 2004–05
		
			 Ethnic origin Male Female Total 
		
		
			 British (White) 600 490 1,090 
			 Irish (White) 60 40 90 
			 Any other White background 160 140 300 
			 White and Black Caribbean (Mixed) 20 30 50 
			 White and Black African (Mixed) 20 10 30 
			 White and Asian (Mixed) 0 10 10 
			 Any other Mixed background 10 10 10 
			 Indian (Asian or Asian British) 50 40 90 
			 Pakistani (Asian or Asian British) 40 20 70 
			 Bangladeshi (Asian or Asian British) 130 70 190 
			 Any other Asian background 30 20 50 
			 Caribbean (Black or Black British) 150 160 310 
			 African (Black or Black British) 170 130 300 
			 Any other Black background 140 80 220 
			 Chinese 10 10 20 
			 Any other ethnic group 40 20 50 
			 Not stated 100 50 140 
			 Total 1,710 1,310 3,020 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data is ungrossed.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Correspondence

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the letter of 10 April 2001 from Alan Burnham, acting chief executive of the War Pensions Agency, to Nick Gibbons of the Cabinet Office was seen by the responsible Minister when it was received;
	(2)  whether the advice from the War Pensions Agency on the defensibility of the proposed restriction on compensation to civilian detainees of the Japanese to British citizens with a blood link with the UK was made known to Ministers when the decision was made to restrict payments.

Don Touhig: There is no evidence to suggest that the letter of 10 April 2001 or other advice from the Agency on the defensibility of the birthlink criterion were seen by Ministers at the time; however, Ministers were made aware of the concern, that had been expressed by the chief executive, that substantial numbers of claims would be rejected as a result of adopting the "birthlink" criterion before this was made public by the Veterans Minister on 11 July 2001.
	The Ministry of Defence's current review of the consistency of eligibility criteria will consider the genesis of the birthlink criterion, in which the agency had been closely involved. It will also consider the nature and handling of the concerns that the agency's chief executive raised in the light of early experience of operating of the birthlink criterion.

Military Complaints Procedures (Independent Assessor)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 12–13W, on the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints procedures, on what basis he made his decision that aspects other than those involving the policing of the 11 and 12 July 2004 North Belfast parades had been examined in sufficient detail.

Adam Ingram: As indicated in my answer of 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 12–13W the policing of the North Belfast parades was examined in considerable detail by Keir Starmer QC and Jane Gordon in their special report for the Policing Board published in November 2004. Although this report did concentrate on the policing aspects of the parades, it also included consideration of the Army's support to the PSNI.
	In light of this report, the relevant arrangements were fully reviewed internally following the 2004 marching season by the PSNI and Army, and a comprehensive and progressive training programme was initiated to exercise and develop these arrangements prior to marching season 2005. We are satisfied with the arrangements in place for joint operations with the PSNI and believe that they properly and fully address the concerns raised in the report.

Procurement Contracts

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many procurement contracts for military equipment with a value greater than £1 million have been agreed with non-UK companies in each year since 2001; what their total value was in each year; how many such contracts were won by (a) US companies, (b) non-EU companies and (c) EU companies in each year since 2001, broken down by country; what the value was of each such contract; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Territorial Army

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many members of the Territorial Army qualified for their annual bounty in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many members of the Territorial Army have been mobilised more than once in the last five years;
	(3)  how many vacancies there are in the Territorial Army;
	(4)  what percentage of soldiers on operational service are members of the (a) Territorial Army and (b) Regular Army Reserve;
	(5)  what the strength of the Territorial Army is, broken down by (a) officers and (b) other ranks;
	(6)  whether members of the Officer Training Corps (OTC) are included in the current strength of the Territorial Army; and how many members of the OTC there are.

Don Touhig: The number of Territorial Army personnel qualifying for annual bounty in any training year (April-March) is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, information on paid bounties (usually for the qualifications gained in the previous year) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Period  
		
		
			 April 2004 to March 2005 23,560 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 25,450 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 26,020 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 26,050 
			 April 2000 to March 2001 28,370 
		
	
	Note:
	Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. Those totals divisible by five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
	1,113 members of the Territorial Army (TA) have been called out more than once over the past five years. This figure includes individuals who may have reported for mobilization but subsequently did not mobilize for medical or other reasons. Information on individuals in this category is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The strength (broken down by officers, soldiers and officer training corps (OTC)) and liability of the TA (including OTC) as at 1 December 2005 can be found in the following table:
	
		Strengths of the Territorial Army (TA) as at 1 December 2005
		
			  Territorial Army of which are Officer Training Corps (OTC) of which are mobilised 
		
		
			 Liability 41,610 3,500 — 
			 Total 37,430 5,750 1,180 
			 
			 Officers 5,450 — 200 
			 Soldiers 31,980 5,750 980 
			 Surplus/Deficit(26) -4,180 2,250 — 
		
	
	(26) The surplus/deficit figure is the difference between the liability and the total number of TA personnel.
	Notes:
	1. The data excludes full-time reserve service (FTPS).
	2. Figures exclude 1,070 non-regular permanent staff (NRPS), of which 200 are officers and 880 are soldiers.
	3. The data have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in '5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
	4. Totals have been rounded separately and therefore may not be equal to the sum of their parts.
	Currently, the TA and Regular Army Reserve form approximately 8 per cent. and 1.4 per cent. respectively of the Regular Army's overall capability deployed on operations (this includes members of the TA and Regular Army Reserve who have been mobilized in support of operations but not necessarily deployed).

Egypt

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to investigate the allegations of harassment of Sudanese refugees in Cairo by the Egyptian authorities; and if he will make representations on behalf of those killed and injured as a result of the incident in Mostafa Mahmoud Park.

Kim Howells: We have taken a close interest in the situation of Sudanese refugees in Egypt. The British embassy in Cairo has participated in meetings with the Egyptian authorities, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and has expressed concern at the tragic incident in Mustafa Mahmoud Square on 30 December.
	The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has informed the UNHCR that the Egyptian Prosecutor-General is carrying out an investigation of the incident.

Iran

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Iran is organising training camps for non-Iranian operatives for (a) military and (b) terrorist activity.

Kim Howells: We are aware of reports that Iran is providing training to groups seeking to undermine peace in the Middle East through violence. We remain deeply concerned about Iran's approach to terrorism and the nature of its relationship with Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. We are also deeply concerned about and continue to investigate Iran's links to extremist groups in Iraq. We have pressed Iran to renounce all support for groups using terror and violence. We have also urged Iran to take effective action against members of Al-Qaeda and "jihadist" groups using Iran as a base, transit route or refuge, and to co-operate actively with the rest of the international community against them.

Jordan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the security situation in Jordan.

Kim Howells: We assess that there is a high threat from terrorism in Jordan. Attacks could be indiscriminate and happen at any time and in any place. Further information about the security situation can be found on the travel advice pages of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at http://www.fco.gov.uk.

Departmental Vehicles

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model.

Jim Murphy: The number of cars owned by the Cabinet Office; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model, is shown in the table.
	
		Number, model, fuel type and efficiency of cars owned by the Department
		
			  Make/model Type of petrol  Fuel efficiency 
		
		
			 2XToyota Prius Hybrid electricity/petrol 65.7 mpg (combined) 
			 Vauxhall Vectra LS DTI Diesel 10.76 average miles/ltr 
			 Ford Focus LX TD DI Diesel 10.47 average miles/ltr 
			 Peugeot 406 GLX HDI Diesel 9.52 average miles/ltr 
			 LDV 400 Convoy Minibus Diesel 5.78 average miles/ltr 
		
	
	For vehicles provided to Government Departments by the GCDA, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Transport has asked the Chief Executive of the GCDA to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	All cars owned and leased are used whilst undertaking official business/duties.

Electronic Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what provisions the Government has made in relation to Implementing Electronic Government to facilitate (a) electronic exchange of property information between local authorities and the Valuation Office Agency and (b) extend the use of geographical information systems by local authorities.

Phil Woolas: One of the 22 Local e-Gov National Projects was Valuebill, which examined ways of effectively and efficiently linking local government and the Valuation Office Agency. This project has now been completed and is being rolled out by London Connects. With regard to geographical information systems, these are readily available commercial products, which local authorities have been able to procure in the same way as any other business software package, according to business need. Local e-government priority outcome G14 requires all local authorities in England to provide
	"GIS-based presentation of information on roadworks in the local area, including contact details and updated daily".
	This outcome is required to be implemented by the end of March 2006.

London Gateway Port Harbour

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister why the representations made by the hon. Member for Castle Point on the London Gateway Port Harbour proposal during 2005 were not included in his most recent circular letter listing representations received.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State circulated on 9 January representations he received in direct response to his minded approval letter of 20 July 2005 on the proposed London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order in which he had invited representations on certain particular matters. The hon. Members letters sent before the Secretary of States letter of 20 July were taken in account in the writing of that letter.
	It remains open to the hon. Member to make a representation in response to the invitation contained in the Secretary of State's letter of 9 January.

Official Residences (Council Tax)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2006, Official Report, columns 782–3W, on official residences (council tax), whether (a) he and (b) a civil servant registered his residence at Admiralty House with Westminster City Council as a second home for council tax purposes;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2006, Official Report, columns 782–3W, on official residences (council tax), whether he has had his council tax bill for his residence in Hull paid from public funds in each year since 1997–98;
	(3)  pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2006, Official Report, columns 782–3W, on official residences (council tax), on what date he became aware that his council tax bill on his Admiralty House residence was being paid from public funds.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The answer given by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 12 January 2006, Official Report, column 782W, set out in full the arrangements for the payment of council tax on his official residences.

Wind Turbine Projects

John Greenway: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what planning guidance his Department has issued in respect of wind turbine developments on domestic premises.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Statement 22 "Renewable Energy" published in 2004 sets out the Government's planning policies for all types and scales of renewable energy projects. PPS22 sets a positive framework for the development of renewable energy by ensuring that local planning authorities include policies in their plans to promote and encourage, rather than restrict, the development of renewable energy resources. In particular, it notes that small scale renewable energy projects can provide a limited but nonetheless valuable contribution to meeting local and national needs.
	PPS22 does not contain specific advice on the issue of wind turbine developments on domestic premises. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be reviewing the relevant Part of the General Permitted Development Order later this year, to see if it would be appropriate to extent householders' permitted development rights in respect of the installation of micro-generation technology.

Benefits

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to notify widows and widowers of the monetary benefits available to them when a spouse has passed away.

James Plaskitt: We keep under review the way that information is made available about benefits so that bereaved people, at this very difficult time in their lives, know about their possible right to benefit and can act on it at the right time. Information is available from the local Jobcentre Plus and social security offices, and the Department for Work and Pensions website gives information about bereavement benefits together with leaflets and claim forms for downloading. Leaflets NP45 "A guide to Bereavement Benefit", D49 "What to do after a death in England and Wales" and D49S "What to do after a death in Scotland" are available for professional advisers and the public, and are reviewed and revised as necessary annually.
	As well as providing traditional sources of information, we have been working in partnership with funeral directors, registrars and voluntary groups such as Cruse, National Association of Widows and Citizens Advice Bureaux who may be contacted by bereaved people. In addition we will continue to look for opportunities across Government and their services as they develop, to improve advice about this particular benefit, to those most in need of it—the newly bereaved.

Benefits

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on advertising in respect of benefit fraud in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Advertising spent 
		
		
			 2001–02 8,039 
			 2002–03 35 
			 2003–04 8,383 
			 2004–05 6,017 
			 2005–06 4,553 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are for the advertising spent for the Targeting Fraud (2001 to 2002) and Targeting Benefit Fraud (2003 to 2006) campaigns. The figure for 2005–06 is for invoices paid in the year to date.
	2. All figures are exclusive of VAT.
	3. The figures in these tables refer to media spend only, excluding production and other costs.
	4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to reduce the complexity of the benefits system.

James Plaskitt: The National Audit Office in Annex A of its report "Dealing with the complexity of the benefits system", published on 18 November 2005, acknowledged that the Department has already taken a number of steps to tackle complexity. We announced at the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 7 December 2005 that we are setting up a dedicated benefit simplification team which will seek to build on those steps.

Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the take-up rate of council tax benefit (a) in total and (b) by income decile; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The latest information on the take-up rate of council tax benefit is available in "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2002/2003", a copy of which is in the Library.
	The information is not available broken down by income decile.

Benefits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average shortfall resulting from the single room rent restriction on housing benefit has been in each year since its introduction.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the table.
	
		Median rent shortfall for housing benefit claimants restricted by the single room rent
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 25 
			 1998–99 24 
			 1999–2000 24 
			 2000–01 26 
			 2001–02 26 
			 2002–03 (27)— 
			 2003–04 30 
			 2004–05 31 
		
	
	(27) A reliable estimate of the median shortfall in 2002–03 is not available due to data limitations.
	Notes:
	1. A shortfall is defined as the difference between the rent charged by the landlord and the maximum amount of housing benefit a claimant could receive. This does not take into account non-dependant deductions or any income over the applicable amount.
	2. The average measure given in this response is the median as this will not be as influenced as the mean by a small number of extreme observations, some of which may be recorded incorrectly in the data. It is therefore more representative of the average rent shortfall.
	3. The average rent shortfalls presented in the table apply only to those cases assessed under the single room rent restriction where this restriction results in a rent shortfall. Some cases assessed under the single room rent restriction will be bound by other Rent Officer restrictions and some will not face a shortfall. In 2004–05 three-quarters of all cases assessed under the single room rent restriction faced a shortfall as a result of this restriction.
	4. Average rent shortfalls are rounded to the nearest pound.
	Source:
	Rent Officer data, England and Wales from 1997–98 to 2000–01 and England only from 2001–02 onwards.

Benefits

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will update the table on the number of households claiming means-tested benefits set out on 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 602W, broken down by (a) household type and (b) number of children.

James Plaskitt: The most recent available information is in the following table.
	
		Income support (IS), income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA(IB)), housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) recipients by family type: Great Britain, May 2003
		
			  IS/JSA(IB) HB CTB 
		
		
			 Single (no children) 2,977,000 2,195,000 2,728,000 
			 Couple (no children) 442,000 439,000 686,000 
			 Single parent (one child) 473,000 411,000 422,000 
			 Single parent (two children) 315,000 293,000 306,000 
			 Single parent (three or more children) 208,000 199,000 209,000 
			 Couple (one child) 92,000 91,000 99,000 
			 Couple (two children) 87,000 88,000 93,000 
			 Couple (three or more children) 92,000 79,000 84,000 
			 Total benefit units with at least one person receiving benefit 4,686,000 3,796,000 4,628,000 
			 Total number of adults in benefit units where at least one person is receiving benefit 5,399,000 4,494,000 5,591,000 
			 Total number of children in benefit units where at least one person is receiving benefit 2,431,000 2,244,000 2,348,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	2. Numbers are based on 1 per cent., 5 per cent. and 100 per cent. samples, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	3. JSA(IB) figures have been derived by applying 5 per cent. proportions to 100 per cent. WPLS totals.
	4. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	5. Income-based JSA includes cases with underlying entitlement to contribution-based JSA.
	6. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	7. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases.
	8. Children are defined as children aged under 16 and young persons aged 16 to 18 in full time education.
	9. There will be a significant overlap between the figures as most people receive both HB and CTB, and a significant proportion also receives IS or JSA.
	10. Single parents are defined as all claimants with dependants and without a partner.
	11. Figures may be affected by the introduction of the new tax credits in April 2003.
	12. IS figures include MIG claimants.
	Sources:
	1. Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.
	2. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data.
	3. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2003.

Benefits

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates were entitled to but did not receive each benefit administered by his Department and its agencies in each year since 1997–98; what the sum of unclaimed benefit was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Estimates of the numbers entitled to, but not receiving the main income-related benefits administered by the DWP—minimum income guarantee/income support, jobseeker's allowance (income-based)—as well as local authority administered housing benefit and council tax benefit, can be found in the DWP publication series entitled: "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up", along with estimates of unclaimed benefit. Copies of the annual reports are held in the Library. The latest edition presents patterns in the take-up of each benefit, between 1997–98 and 2002–03.
	These estimates predate the introduction of pension credit, which replaced MIG in October 2003. Estimates of pension credit will be published on 31 January 2006; this publication will include the first six months of pension credit. Estimates for the full year 2004–05 are expected to be published in May 2006.
	Currently it is not possible to estimate take-up rates for disability living allowance and attendance allowance. Following a recommendation in "Meeting DWP's long-term information needs on disability: a feasibility report", (DWP Research report number 267), the Department is commissioning research to test two possible approaches to establish whether it is possible to estimate take-up rates for these benefits. Results will be available in 2007.
	Information on other DWP administered benefits is not available.

Child Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much child maintenance outstanding from 1993–94 to 2004–05 from non-resident parents with cases with the Child Support Agency resulted from (a) full maintenance assessments and maintenance calculations where the outstanding amount is deemed to be possibly uncollectable or collectable, (b) full maintenance assessments and maintenance calculations where the outstanding amount is deemed probably uncollectable, (c) interim maintenance assessments where the outstanding amount is deemed to be possibly uncollectable or collectable and (d) interim maintenance assessments where the outstanding amount is deemed to be probably uncollectable; and what proportion of each category of debt has been recovered.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 11 November 2005
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much child maintenance outstanding from 1993–94 to 2004–05 from non-resident parents with cases with the Child Support Agency resulted from (a) full maintenance assessments and maintenance calculations where the outstanding amount is deemed to be possibly uncollectable or collectable, (b) full maintenance assessments and maintenance calculations where the outstanding amount is deemed probably uncollectable, (c) interim maintenance assessments where the outstanding amount is deemed to be possibly uncollectable or collectable and (d) interim maintenance assessments where the outstanding amount is deemed to be probably uncollectable; and what proportion of each category of debt has been recovered.
	The tables provided show Agency debt from 1994–1995 to 2004–2005 split by collectability and assessment type. These are cumulative figures representing debt arising from the respective year and all previous years as no debt has ever been written off by the Agency.
	As reported in the 2004/05 annual report, the Agency updated the classification criteria used to analyse debt. This was to reflect improved management information around the recoverability of debt, resulting in more debt being classified as collectable. The outstanding amounts will be pursued vigorously through the Enforcement Directorate.
	The Agency currently receives over £585 million maintenance per year however there is still a culture surrounding its activities whereby some non-resident parents perceive it as acceptable not to comply with the Agency and make their maintenance payments. The Agency has therefore begun to take steps to tackle this issue.
	Debt has been increasing year on year because many non-resident parents actively avoid their obligations for example by changing jobs when the Agency imposes enforcement action on them or changing addresses whenever the Agency locates them. The Agency recognises that it needs to make more use of its powers of enforcement, and has started to take steps to do this, however this is constrained by the requirements of the legal process and dependent on decisions made by the courts.
	A dedicated Enforcement Directorate has been set up to focus on the collection of debt from the more difficult cases and the Agency is aggressively pursuing non-compliant clients more pro-actively than in the past. The directorate's aims are also to change the culture to one where it is not acceptable to deliberately avoid payment of maintenance.
	The creation of the Enforcement Directorate has already improved the Agency's enforcement performance and effectiveness with improved outcomes at the more routine stages of enforcement for example, bailiff action, third party debt orders and charging orders.
	The number of liability orders granted is improving with more than 4,500 liability orders being granted already this financial year. Also this year the amount collected by bailiff teams has doubled to £3 million and the Agency has achieved successful outcomes in increasing numbers of committal actions. In addition, the directorate has achieved collections of £8.39 million from April to November 2005, with November achieving the highest in month collections of £1.42 million.
	The actions outlined above should therefore start to reduce the historic debt levels and improve compliance.
	The achievements are modest in the context of the total debt but demonstrate that more focussed enforcement action can be successful. I have also made recommendations to Ministers on further improving enforcement following my review of the operations of the Agency.
	I hope you find this response helpful.
	
		Child maintenance outstanding as reported in annual report and accounts £ million
		
			 Cumulative Agency Debt position at year end 2004–05 Full maintenance assessment Maintenance calculation Interim maintenance assessment Default maintenance decision 
		
		
			 Collectable 459.19 88.9 78.5 11.2 
			 Possibly uncollectable 290.24 n/a 309.30 n/a 
			 Probably uncollectable 1,017.26 28.5 938.66 n/a 
			 Deferred 30.83 n/a 0.17 n/a 
			 Total 1,797.52 117.40 1,326.63 11.20 
		
	
	
		Maintenance collected as reported in the annual report and accounts £ million
		
			 Sums received Full maintenance assessments Maintenance calculations Interim maintenance assessments Default maintenance assessments Total 
		
		
			 2004–05 482.70 93.02 8.78 0.91 585.41 
			 2003–04 549.14 18.89 11.96 0.28 580.27 
			 2002–03 558.57 n/a 13.98 n/a 572.55 
			 2001–02 513.93 n/a 14.52 n/a 528.45 
			 2000–01 483.84 n/a 18.71 n/a 502.55 
			 1999–2000 437.25 n/a 23.43 n/a 460.68 
			 1998–99 370.08 n/a 22.30 n/a 392.38 
			 1997–98 286.48 n/a 19.68 n/a 306.16 
			 1996–97 201.41 n/a 11.80 n/a 213.21 
			 1995–96 127.73 n/a 6.72 n/a 134.45 
			 1994–95 74.20 n/a — n/a 74.20 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	Notes:
	1. The annual report and accounts for previous years were re-published in 1997–98, due to a change in accounting policy in reporting collectability of the debt. Also, the Agency did not publish audited accounts in 1993–94; and no figures are therefore shown for this year.
	2. The new scheme was launched on 3 March 2003, and (monies from new scheme cases and default maintenance decisions) began to accrue in the 2002–03. Information is provided from this date.
	3. The "Deferred" figures represent arrears maintenance that the Agency has agreed not to collect from non-resident parents because the Agency was wholly or partly responsible for the build-up of those arrears.
	4. Full maintenance assessments and interim maintenance assessments include new and old scheme cases. Maintenance calculated and default maintenance decisions are new scheme only.
	5. The Agency is unable to provide the proportion recovered for each debt category. The principle behind the recoverability of debt as reported in the annual report and accounts is based on a sample of cases examined as part of a National Audit Office approved annual debt analysis exercise.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many requests for information Child Support Agency staff may make to the DVLA each month; how many requests were made in each month since 2001; and what the average time taken to respond was.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Hilary Reynolds, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive, as Stephen Geraghty is on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for information Child Support Agency staff may make to the DVLA each month; how many requests were made in each month since 2001; and what the average time taken to respond was.
	Under the terms of the July 2002 Service Level Agreement, the Child Support Agency may issue up to 70 requests for information from the DVLA per calendar month (840 per year) nationally.
	The Agency holds robust data on the number of requests for information issued to the DVLA for each month since 1st December 2003:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003  
			 December 2003 29 
			   
			 2004  
			 January 48 
			 February 54 
			 March 60 
			 April 56 
			 May 52 
			 June 48 
			 July 47 
			 August 54 
			 September 44 
			 October 39 
			 November 52 
			 December 45 
			   
			 2005  
			 January 47 
			 February 46 
			 March 45 
			 April 47 
			 May 41 
			 June 60 
			 July 41 
			 August 33 
			 September 55 
			 October 45 
		
	
	We can also say with accuracy that a total of 871 requests for information were issued to the DVLA in the period from 1st April 2002 to 30th November 2003, although we cannot break this down on a monthly basis.
	We do not currently have robust information on volumes of requests issued to the DVLA earlier than April 2002.
	The average time taken to obtain a response from the DVLA is not available, but under the terms of the Service Level Agreement requests for information from the Child Support Agency should be returned within 10 working days of their receipt by the DVLA. The table below outlines the current success rate achieved against that target in the current financial year:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2005  
			 April 90 
			 May 66 
			 June 40 
			 July 71 
			 August 82 
			 September 87 
			 October 100 
		
	
	I hope you find this information useful.

Child Support Agency

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Scotland have been non-compliant with their Child Support Agency assessment in each quarter since the first quarter of 1996.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Scotland have been non-compliant with their Child Support Agency assessment in each quarter since the first quarter of 1996.
	Such information as is available is set out in the attached table.
	The information requested cannot be extracted for new scheme cases and old scheme cases on the new computer system in Scotland for the period March 2003 to the present. Therefore the table refers to old scheme cases prior to the introduction of the new scheme.
	It should be noted that whilst the number of non compliant cases increased by two thousand between February 1996 and February 2003, the overall caseload also increased over the same period. The compliance rate in reality increased over this time from 58 to 76 per cent.
	I hope you find this information helpful.
	
		Number of non compliant Child Support Agency collection service cases in Scotland, in each quarter from February 1996 to February 2003
		
			  Non compliant cases 
		
		
			 February 1996 7,000 
			 May 1996 6,000 
			 August 1996 7,000 
			 November 1996 7,000 
			 February 1997 7,000 
			 May 1997 7,000 
			 August 1997 6,000 
			 November 1997 6,000 
			 February 1998 6,000 
			 May 1998 7,000 
			 August 1998 8,000 
			 November 1998 8,000 
			 February 1999 9,000 
			 May 1999 7,000 
			 August 1999 9,000 
			 November 1999 10,000 
			 February 2000 10,000 
			 May 2000 10,000 
			 August 2000 10,000 
			 November 2000 11,000 
			 February 2001 12,000 
			 May 2001 12,000 
			 August 2001 12,000 
			 November 2001 13,000 
			 February 2002 12,000 
			 May 2002 10,000 
			 August 2002 9,000 
			 November 2002 8,000 
			 February 2003 9,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	2. Compliance is defined as all those cases which are open and have paid money via the collection service in Scotland over the preceding quarter.
	3. The table only includes old scheme cases with a full maintenance assessment. Those with a punitive interim maintenance assessment are excluded from this analysis, in line with the Agency's target definition.

Child Support Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what use has been made by the Child Support Agency of (a) attachment of earnings orders, (b) withdrawal of driving licences and (c) other enforcement powers in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of tagging absent parents failing to pay monies owed for their children.

James Plaskitt: The Child Support Agency does not use attachment of earnings orders; the child support legislation allows for a deduction from earnings order (DEO) to be made.
	The following table below shows the number of cases with a DEO as a method of maintenance collection in the particular month stated. This table also shows the percentage of cases this affects.
	
		
			 Month Cases with DEO as a method of maintenance collection Percentage of cases with DEO as a method of collection 
		
		
			 November 2002 134,000 24 
			 November 2003 — — 
			 November 2004 131,000 22 
			 September 2005 147,000 22 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers include deduction from earnings requests (DER's), which are issued when the non-resident parent is in the armed forces.
	2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	3. Robust information covering the period May 2003 to February 2004 is not currently available.
	4. The number of cases includes those old scheme cases with a full maintenance assessment, and those new scheme cases with either a full maintenance calculation, or a default maintenance decision. Old scheme cases with a punitive interim maintenance assessment (an imposed assessment due to the non co-operation of the non-resident parent), a small number of which would have deductions from earnings orders in place, are excluded from this analysis in line with the Agency's target definitions, as are new scheme cases being processed clerically. There are also currently around 5,000 cases for which the method of payment is unknown, some of which could be DEOs.
	Committal to prison or disqualification from holding a driving license are enforcement sanctions used as a last resort by the agency when all other enforcement measures have failed. The court will decide which of the sanctions is the most appropriate.
	The following table shows the committal to prison and disqualification from driving outcomes in Great Britain.
	
		Number
		
			  Suspended committal sentence Committal sentence Driving licence—suspended sentence Driving licence—disqualified 
		
		
			 2003–04 95 8 9 1 
			 2004–05 224 8 31 5 
			 November 2005–06 212 8 13 4 
			 Total 531 24 53 10 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of litigation cases instigated in England and Wales.
	
		Number
		
			  County court judgements Bailiffs Third party debt orders Charging orders 
		
		
			 2003–04 513 3062 1395 922 
			 2004–05 1180 4446 1292 851 
			 November 2005–06 1348 4962 1132 878 
			 Total 3041 12470 3819 2651 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of litigation cases instigated in Scotland.
	
		Number
		
			  Arrestments Attachments Attached goods auction Letters of inhibition 
		
		
			 2003–04 768 81 4 102 
			 2004–05 457 115 2 232 
			 November 2005–06 323 97 2 331 
			 Total 1548 293 8 665 
		
	
	We have made no estimation of the cost of tagging.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to strengthen the Child Support Agency's powers to require non-resident parents to provide information on their current address and employment details; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: It is a criminal offence, under Section 14A of the Child Support Act, for not supplying information to the Agency when requested to do so or by knowingly providing false information. This offence currently carries a maximum £1,000 fine.

Child Support Agency

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Child Support Agency has responded to representations to it from men who were deemed to be fathers without care but subsequently proved not to be the father for compensation or interest on the sums taken from them in addition to reimbursement of the sum itself; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: If maintenance has already been paid by the alleged non-resident parent when he is found not to be the father, he will receive a refund of any maintenance paid.
	Compensation or interest would not normally be paid in addition unless there has been maladministration on the part of the Agency. Each case is considered on its merits.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost has been of running the Child Support Agency including all capital costs, in each year since 1994–95; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January, 2006
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost has been of running the Child Support Agency including all capital costs in each year since 1994–95. The information that you requested is in the following table:
	
		
			£ million 
			  Net administration costs Capital expenditure Maintenance paid 
		
		
			 1994–95 192.393 1.993 82.4 
			 1995–96 199.268 1.880 128.63 
			 1996–97 224.525 3.937 207.75 
			 1997–98 225.942 1.375 298.80 
			 1998–99 231.174 2.458 389.96 
			 1999–2000 260.333 4.310 457.44 
			 2000–01 250.046 1.423 498.86 
			 2001–02 290.413 0.247 526.80 
			 2002–03 294.286 1.467 570.69 
			 2003–04 322.983 0.517 580.09 
			 2004–05 325.619 0.457 583.15

Electronic Data Systems

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the National Audit Office on the Child Support Agency contract with Electronic Data Systems.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations his Department has received from the National Audit Office on the background to the Child Support Agency contract with Electronic Data Systems.
	The Select Committee Report in January 2005, on the Performance of the Child Support Agency provided Government with a number of recommendations. Recommendation 3 focused on the CSA contract with EDS:
	"We recommend that the National Audit Office undertakes a comprehensive study of the background to the CSA contract with EDS as soon as it is feasible to do so, and that Parliament should debate the findings in Government time on the floor of the House."
	The Government noted this recommendation in its response to the Select Committee in March 2005.
	National Audit Office has commenced an investigation into Child Support Reforms, which will address this recommendation. It is currently in the process of gathering evidence.
	I hope you find this information helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 50 years claimed jobseeker's allowance (JSA) in Houghton and Washington, East constituency in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03, (c) 2003–04 and (d) 2004–05; and what percentage (i) remained on JSA, (ii) found work, (iii) moved onto income support and (iv) moved onto incapacity benefit in each year.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the table.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claims where the claimant is aged 50 or over in the Houghton and Washington, East parliamentary constituency and percentage who left the benefit
		
			  Case load Percentage left JSA 
		
		
			 2001–02 900 77.8 
			 2002–03 900 66.7 
			 2003–04 1,000 70.0 
			 2004–05 1,100 81.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures refer to financial years from 1 April to 31 March.
	2. All figures refer to JSA claims where the claimant is aged 50 or over. People who have had multiple JSA claims will be counted more than once.
	3. Per cent. left JSA refers to the percentage of JSA claims (where the claimant was aged 50 or over) that had terminated by the end of the financial year.
	4. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred; percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Non-resident Parents (Maintenance Payments)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) custodial sentences have been imposed and (b) driving licences have been confiscated for the persistent non-payment of maintenance by non-resident parents in each of the last three years (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in the Middlesbrough courts area.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 20 December 2005
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) custodial sentences have been imposed and (b) driving licences have been confiscated for the persistent non-payment of maintenance by non-resident parents in each of the last three years (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in the Middlesbrough courts area.
	The information you requested is set out as follows:
	
		Committal to prison and the removal of driving licences in Great Britain:
		
			  Number of cases referred to court Suspended prison sentences Committal to prison Suspended driving licence withdrawals Driving licence withdrawals 
		
		
			 2003–04 240 95 8 9 1 
			 2004–05 662 224 8 31 5 
			 2005–06 (April to November) 554 212 8 13 4 
		
	
	Notes to table:
	(i) The figures are given for Great Britain since the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency administers child support in Northern Ireland.
	(ii) The fact that the number of suspensions and actual penalties is less than half the number of referrals is explained by the number of debtors who enter into agreements to pay rather than attend court. Similarly, only a very small number of debtors actually go to prison or lose their driving licences because the courts normally suspend a sentence on condition that the defendant commits to pay.
	No custodial sentences have been imposed in the Middlesbrough courts area.
	One driving licence has been withdrawn in the Middlesbrough courts area. This was in June 2005.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Pensioners (Castle Point)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in Castle Point who do not claim their full entitlement of benefits and allowances.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available.
	Latest estimates of the number of pensioners who are entitled to but not receiving the minimum income guarantee, housing benefit and council tax benefit are available on a national basis only. They can be found in the DWP report entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2002/2003". Copies of the publication are available in the Library.
	These estimates are published annually in the DWP report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-up". The next set of statistics, due to be released on 31 January 2006, will contain figures for the first six months of pension credit.
	Currently it is not possible to estimate take-up rates for disability living allowance and attendance allowance. The Department is commissioning research to establish whether it is possible to estimate take-up rates for these benefits. Results will be available in 2007.
	Information on the number of pensioners entitled to but not receiving other DWP administered benefits is not available.

Pensions

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate expenditure on state pensions with the winter fuel allowance and pension credit being abolished, state second pension being retained and the basic state pension being raised to the level of the guaranteed credit and increased in line with earnings thereafter for (a) 2006, (b) 2010, (c) 2020, (d) 2030, (e) 2040 and (f) 2050 as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Stephen Timms: The information is in the table:
	
		
			  Total expenditure (percentage) 
		
		
			 2006 5.4 
			 2010 5.8 
			 2020 6.3 
			 2030 7.7 
			 2040 8.6 
			 2050 9.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures include spending on basic state pensions, additional pensions, over 75s TV licence and Christmas bonuses.
	2. Expenditure on basic state pension, additional pension and other pensioner benefits are based on PBR 2005 long-term projections for future GB benefit expenditure.
	3. The additional gross cost of raising the BSP to the GC level from 2006–07 has been provided by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). These figures are for GB only.
	4. All figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percent.
	5. There would also be a reduction in spending on other means tested benefits such as housing and council tax benefit and increase in tax revenues if the basic state pension was linked to guarantee credit level and then uprated by earnings.
	6. Under this hypothetical policy change there would be losers. People who had less than full BSP or received pension credit with a disabled or carers premium may lose under this system.

Pensions

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate expenditure on state pensions with the winter fuel and pension credit being abolished, state second pension being abolished and the basic state pension being raised to the level of the guaranteed credit and increased in line with earnings thereafter for (a) 2006, (b) 2010, (c) 2020, (d) 2030, (e) 2040 and (f) 2050 as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Stephen Timms: The information is in the table:
	
		
			  Total expenditure (percentage) 
		
		
			 2006 5.4 
			 2010 5.8 
			 2020 6.2 
			 2030 7.3 
			 2040 7.8 
			 2050 7.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures include spending on basic state pensions, additional pensions, over 75s TV license and Christmas bonuses.
	2. Expenditure on basic state pension, additional pension and other pensioner benefits are based on PBR 2005 long-term projections for future GB benefit expenditure.
	3. The figures for additional pension are based on the assumption that all SEPRS and S2P accruals up to 5 of April 2006 would still be paid.
	4. The figures for the gross costs of raising the basic state pension to the guarantee credit level from 2006–7 and the costs of paying the existing SERPS and S2P accruals are provided by the Government Actuary's Department, they are based on PBR forecasts and are for GB only.
	5. There would also be a reduction in spending on other means tested benefits such as housing and council tax benefit and increase in tax revenues if the basic state pension was linked to guarantee credit level and then uprated by earnings.
	6. Under this hypothetical policy change there would still be losers. People who had less than full BSP or received pension credit with a disabled or carers premium may lose under this system.
	7. The figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percent.
	Abolishing S2P would mean that the contracted out rebate would no longer need to be paid. This would save:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2006 0.9 
			 2010 0.7 
			 2020 0.6 
			 2030 0.5 
			 2040 0.4 
			 2050 0.4 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percent.

Telephone Helplines

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone calls to the Child Support Agency (a) were received, (b) received an engaged tone and (c) were disconnected during the interactive voice response process for the period April 2002 to September 2005 for (i) all calls and (ii) calls relating to the cases being progressed on the new computer system; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 19 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; how many telephone calls to the Child Support Agency were (a) received (b) engaged and (c) disconnected during the interactive voice response process for the period April 2002 to September 2005 for (i) all calls and (ii) calls relating to the cases being progressed on the new computer system; and if he will make a statement.
	The information requested is contained in the attached table.
	As you will see, since experiencing the major, well-documented problems associated with the introduction of the new Child Support Scheme in March 2003, the Agency has shown significant improvements in telephony performance.
	In particular, for those calls for which management information is available as to the eventual outcome of the call:
	In the period April-September 2005, 82 per cent. of total calls received were answered, up from 58 per cent. in 2003–04.
	In the period April-September 2005, only 3 per cent. of total calls received were ineffective (which means they received an engaged tone, or failed due to other system problems) down from 14 per cent. in 2003–04.
	Calls abandoned can be split into two types, those abandoned while in queues waiting for staff to answer them and those calls abandoned in the automated touch tone/Interactive Voice Response (IVR) part of the process before they have joined a queue to be answered by staff (for example if the client does not have a National Insurance number to hand and hangs up to go and find it before calling back).
	Calls abandoned in the automated touch-tone/IVR part of the process have remained relatively stable at around 6 per cent. of total calls received over the last 3 years.
	Calls abandoned once in a queue has fallen from 22 per cent. of total calls received in 2003–04 to 10 per cent. in the period April-September 2005.
	89 per cent. of calls which entered a queue after passing through the IVR/touchtone part of the process were successfully answered between April and September 2005, up from 73 per cent. in 2003–04.
	I hope you find this information helpful.
	
		Number of calls received by the CSA and the outcomes of those calls April 2002 September 2005
		
			 Numbers of calls (Thousand) April 2002-March 2003 April 2003-March 2004 April 2004-March 2005 April-September 2005 
		
		
			 New System (CS2 old and new schemes) 
			 Attempted customer calls to CS2 numbers n/a 1,693 2,922 1,595 
			 calls for which outcome not recorded n/a 125 48 27 
			 calls for which outcome recorded n/a 1,568 2,874 1,569 
			 calls that received an engaged / busy tone n/a 39 36 19 
			 other ineffective calls n/a 29 94 39 
			 calls abandoned / lost during the IVR process n/a 362 320 135 
			 calls that were answered from the queue (post IVR) n/a 891 2,018 1,223 
			 calls abandoned in queue (post IVR) n/a 246 406 153 
			 % of accounted for calls answered n/a 57 70 78 
			 % of calls that were answered from the queue n/a 78 83 89 
			 Old system (CSCS—old scheme)  
			 Attempted customer calls to CSCS numbers 4,145 4,358 2,815 1,109 
			 calls for which outcome not recorded 45 20 0 0 
			 calls for which outcome recorded 4,100 4,338 2,815 1,109 
			 calls that received an engaged / busy tone See note 1 459 90 3 
			 other ineffective calls See note 1 326 115 32 
			 calls abandoned / lost during the IVR process n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 calls that were answered from the queue (post IVR) 3,121 2,525 2,222 965 
			 calls abandoned in queue (post IVR) 528 1,028 389 109 
			 % of accounted for calls answered 76 58 79 87 
			 % of calls that were answered from the queue 86 71 85 90 
			 Total CSA (both schemes and systems)  
			 Attempted customer calls to both CSCS and CS2 numbers 4,145 6,051 5,738 2,705 
			 calls for which outcome not recorded 45 145 48 27 
			 calls for which outcome recorded 4,100 5,906 5,689 2,678 
			 calls that received an engaged / busy tone See note 1 498 126 21 
			 other ineffective calls See note 1 355 210 72 
			 calls abandoned / lost during the IVR process n/a 362 320 135 
			 calls that were answered from the queue (post IVR) 3,121 3,417 4,240 2,189 
			 calls abandoned in queue (post IVR) 528 1,274 794 261 
			 % of accounted for calls answered 76 58 75 82 
			 % of calls that were answered from the queue 86 73 84 89 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Total calls received exclude calls outside working hours.
	2. It is not possible to break down ineffective calls into those that did or did not receive an engaged tone for old system calls in 2002–03.
	3. Other ineffective calls are those that result in a ring tone but no reply, fail due to network technical problems, or are answered by a BT message but do not connect to the CSA system.
	4. The figures exclude new system (CS2) calls received between April 2003 and June 2003 (of which there were 225,000) as the Agency does not hold disaggregated management information as to the outcome of these calls.
	5. 'Calls for which outcome not recorded', are those which were received but for which, due to problems with the Ml system, the eventual outcome was not recorded. Some of these calls would have been answered, and others would have been abandoned. The volume of such calls has decreased significantly in the last 3 years as management information systems have improved.
	6. 'Calls for which outcome recorded' are those which were received and for which there is management information to track the eventual outcome.
	7. IVR denotes the automated touch tone part of the process where customers enter their details via the telephone key pad. Once callers have cleared this part of the process, they enter a queue to be answered by a member of CSA staff. There is no IVR process on the old system.
	8. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand, and percentages to the nearest per cent. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Winter Fuel Payments

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Kettering constituency were entitled to winter fuel payment in each year since its introduction.

Stephen Timms: Information relating to winter fuel payments for the winters of 1997–98 and 1998–99 is not available. The information for Kettering constituency from winter 1999–2000 is in the following table. These figures are also available in the Library.
	
		
			 Kettering constituency Payments made 
		
		
			 1999–2000 17,360 
			 2000–01 19,395 
			 2001–02 19,745 
			 2002–03 19,965 
			 2003–04 20,425 
			 2004–05 20,510 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Local authorities and parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 100 per cent. sample

Winter Fuel Payments

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received winter fuel payments in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster in 2004–05.

Stephen Timms: In winter 2004–05 there were 44,700 people in the Barnsley local authority area and 58,575 people in the Doncaster local authority area who received a winter fuel payment.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five. 2. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 100 per cent. sample.

Drug Addicts (Treatment)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the scheme of giving drug addicts who commit non-violent offences treatment in the community rather than short prison terms; and whether there are plans to expand the scheme to include those who commit non-violent offences under the influence of alcohol.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) aims to make the most of opportunities provided by the criminal justice system to direct drug misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment and break the destructive cycle of drugs, offending and prison.
	Key elements of the Programme are delivered in all areas of England while the "intensive" elements of the Programme are currently operational in 97 areas with high levels of acquisitive crime. This includes testing individuals for Class A drugs who are charged with a trigger offence. Testing on Arrest is currently operational in three areas of England and will commence in all other DIP intensive areas in England on 31 March 2006. The results of the tests are also used to inform court decisions on bail and sentencing. It is a matter for the courts to determine the most appropriate sentence according to the offence committed.
	From October 2000 until the introduction of the community order of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in April 2005, drug treatment was delivered as a requirement of a community sentence through the Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO). The DTTO is gradually being replaced by the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) of the community order for offenders aged 18 or over.
	There are no plans to extend DIP to include those who commit offences under the influence of alcohol. An Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) is available to courts as a non-custodial sentencing option for offences linked to alcohol use.

Drugs Rehabilitation Programme

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response the Government have made to requests for funding for the detoxification and rehabilitation programme operated by RADAR in conjunction with Coldturkey UK.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 January 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	We have no record of having received any formal bid to central Government for the funding of any drug services operated by The Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR).
	However, the Department's currently funds RADAR through the section 64 general scheme as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2003–04 86,400 
			 2004–05 95,000 
			 2005–06 95,000 
		
	
	This core funding is for RADAR's central administrative costs, and covers their objectives to work towards change enabling disabled people to control their own lives, by promoting regulation, good practice and equality of opportunity, advocating the removal of physical and attitudinal barriers: informing disabled people, disability organisations and others on matters affecting disabled people, and supporting disability organisations.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what help is offered by his Department to prisoners to cease smoking.

Fiona Mactaggart: People in prison are being helped to stop smoking through services specially targeted to meet their needs, including nicotine replacement therapy. In 2001–02 the Department of Health ran a pilot project on smoking cessation in prison. It publication, "Acquitted", is a reference guide for those starting up new stop smoking services in the prison setting and outlines key learning points from the project. It is targeted at both NHS smoking services and prisons. An evaluation is under way to report on the Department of Health's £1.5 million investment, between 2003 and 2006, for smoking cessation services in prisons.

Probation Officers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the complaints made by (a) members of the public, (b) hon. Members and (c) members of the House of Lords in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the outcome of each complaint was about the conduct of probation officers.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department does not collect the information in the form requested. A National Complaints Procedure, agreed by the Secretary of State, enables local probation areas to handle complaints. Complaints must be from offenders or their nominated representatives. Unresolved local complaints are escalated to the independent Prison and Probation ombudsman. The following table details the number of complaints received by the Prison and Probation ombudsman since 1 September 2001, the date on which the NPS complaints procedure, and the ombudsman's responsibility for investigating complaints about the probation service were implemented.
	
		Complaints made by offenders or their representatives about the Probation Service, received by the Prison and Probation ombudsman since 1 September 2001
		
			  Number received Number eligible 
		
		
			 September 2001 to March 2002 83 5 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 191 31 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 279 28 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 307 41 
		
	
	The number eligible column shows the number of complaints out of all those received that have been eligible for the ombudsman to investigate. The ombudsman's terms of reference (and the NPS complaint procedure) require that all three stages of the complaint procedure must have been completed before the ombudsman may investigate a complaint. The three stages are: informal investigation by the local office, formal investigation by the Chief Officer or a senior officer nominated by the CO, and finally the appeal stage when a panel of three Board members hears the appeal. The ombudsman may accept complaints that are referred to him within one month of the complainant receiving the result of the appeal.

Young Offenders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recidivism rate among young offenders was in each of the last eight years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Reconviction rates for young offenders following a pre-court disposal, a non-custodial sentence at court or discharge from custody have been published as part of the Home Office's monitoring of its PSA (Public Service Agreement) target on reducing reoffending. The most recent data were published in "Juvenile reconviction: results from the 2003 cohort". The report shows one year reconviction rates for juvenile offenders (those aged 10 to 17) for 1997 and 2000 to 2003.
	Some statistics on reconviction rates for young offenders released from prison or starting a community sentence have been published in "Prison Statistics: England and Wales" and "Probation Statistics, England and Wales" but these are on a different basis from the PSA results. These publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
	Reconviction rates should be used with caution as a number of different factors can influence them. Reconviction rates can be adjusted to take account of the changing characteristics of offenders and these adjusted rates are published on the Home Office's website. The most recent data show that there has been a reduction in re-offending for young offenders of 2.4 per cent. against the 2000 baseline. The Home Office Public Service Agreement target is to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. by 2006.

Hospital Staff (Working Hours)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the implementation of the European Working Time Directive in relation to the working hours of (a) consultants, (b) junior house doctors and (c) nursing staff in hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The latest information on junior doctors indicates that 71 per cent. of junior doctors are compliant with the European Working Time Directive. Information on consultants and nursing staff is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Police Numbers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of police officers on out-of-station duty each day was in each district command unit in the Province in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The PSNI Human Resource Department do not hold data in relation to the average number of police officers "out-of-station duty" on each day in each DCU for the last five years.
	However, since the inception of the Human Resource Planning Strategy under the objective of Improving Organisational Performance through efficient and effective deployment practices, the PSNI has committed to increasing the percentage of officer time spent on front line policing to 72 per cent. by 2007–08.
	The Front Line Policing Measure for the PSNI currently stands at 56.6 per cent. for 2004–05 and they are currently on target to achieve the 2005–06 target of 60 per cent.. This figure cannot be fully calculated until the completion of activity sampling towards the end of the financial year.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what ballistic and armouring tests are carried out on (a) patrol cars, (b) armoured land rovers and (c) VIP cars in the Police Service of Northern Ireland fleet; and to what standard such testing is conducted;
	(2)  what (a) standards and (b) procedures are used by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in relation to the procurement and use of ballistic steel for armouring purposes;
	(3)  in what posts (a) Mr. David Graham, (b) Mr. John Wilson, (c) Mr. Nigel Booth, (d) Mr. Gerry Murray and (e) Mr. Dave Bradley have served with (i) the Police Authority of Northern Ireland and (ii) the Police Service of Northern Ireland; what the duration of their service was in each case; what experience each has in (A) ballistic engineering and (B) vehicle armoury; and what professional qualifications each has.

Shaun Woodward: These questions deal with issues that are currently subject to an ongoing criminal investigation and no further information can be made available at this stage.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines apply to the suspension of Police Service of Northern Ireland officers and staff pending the formal investigation of irregularities; and in what circumstances staff are suspended.

Shaun Woodward: There are two distinct sets of guidelines which cover police officers and police staff. These are as follows:
	1. Police Staff are covered by NICS code paragraph 1084, which states:
	An individual may at any time be suspended from duty if, in the opinion of the person exercising disciplinary powers, that course is a necessary precaution in the public interest pending the outcome of criminal or disciplinary investigations or proceedings, and no alternative course eg transfer to other duties is appropriate. Suspension in these circumstances, as distinct from suspension as a disciplinary penalty (see paragraph 1093d), does not imply any decisions about the case, and this important distinction should be kept in mind whenever any record or report of the period of absence is necessary. Pay in respect of any period of suspension may be withheld wholly or in part so long as such suspension continues, if the person exercising disciplinary powers so decides. In such circumstances individuals may be told that they may be eligible to claim for National Insurance benefits such as unemployment or sickness or supplementary benefits. Where it is decided that pay, in the whole or in part, should continue, for the purposes of calculating the amount to be paid the person on suspension should be treated in the same way as staff treated during the first six months of sickness absence. This would entail, among other things, paying shift disturbance (SDA) for the first 30 days but not paying notional overtime. Any decision to withhold pay will be subject to early and regular review; among the factors taken into account will be the circumstances of the alleged offence and the person's dependents. If disciplinary proceedings result in a penalty any withheld pay in respect of the suspension will be forfeited wholly or in part if the person exercising disciplinary powers so determines after consideration of all the circumstances of the case. Any withheld pay which it is decided will not be forfeited will be paid. Someone cleared of all charges, will receive a net sum making up any shortfall in net pay that would have been received during the period of suspension. Where it is concluded that someone should be paid during the period of suspension including retrospective payment, the period, the period should reckon under the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme in the normal way. The procedures set out in this paragraph do not affect the practice whereby a line manager may send someone home if the circumstances seem to require this: unless this is for a very brief period, however, consideration should be given by the person exercising disciplinary powers to the need for formal suspension.
	2. Police Officers
	The PSNI has introduced a very robust, human rights compliant suspension policy which was crafted following a long and detailed consultation process with counsel, human rights etc. The policy takes into account 20 substantive considerations when deciding whether or not an officer should be suspended from duty (Code Section 9 App. 9 as attached). In practice the investigating officer, the District Commander, the Supervising Member and the Head of Internal Investigation Branch forward recommendations to the Deputy Chief Constable regarding the issue of suspension. These recommendations are based on the substantive considerations. The Deputy Chief Constable is the person responsible for deciding whether or not an officer should be suspended from duty. The circumstances of the suspension is reviewed on a monthly basis by the Head of Internal Investigation Branch and the Supervising Member.
	Appendix 9(9)—Suspension: Substantive Considerations— (See RUC Code Section 9, paragraph 25)
	Matters to be considered—Listed below are various factors which may be taken into account in considering whether to suspend a member from duty. These factors provide general guidance and are not exhaustive of the considerations which may be examined and weighed in any given case. Further, the weight, if any, to be accorded by the decision-maker to the factors which they consider will be a matter for them.
	1. Whether continued duty by the member concerned would be conducive to the promotion and maintenance of high standards of discipline within the police service.
	2. The nature and seriousness of the alleged misconduct and any apparent aggravating or mitigating factors.
	3. Relevant medical reports on the member concerned.
	4. The member's personal and family circumstances, including the impact which suspension from duty is likely to have on them.
	5. The past performance and disciplinary record, if any, of the member concerned.
	6. Consideration of the wishes and interests of the victim of the member's alleged offences, including any reparation they may have obtained in some other form of proceedings.
	7. The strength of the case against the member concerned, including the member's defence to, or explanation of, the matters under investigation, (where known).
	8. The range of penalties available, or likely to be available, in the event that the member s conduct was determined not to have met the appropriate standard.
	9. The likelihood of getting a member to a discipline hearing, especially where medical considerations might militate against a discipline hearing. (See N1O Guidance paragraphs 3.67 and 3.68 and Annex T.
	10. Recommendations from the member detecting the offence/investigating officer, divisional commander(s) and 'G' Department. [Code Section 9, paragraph 25(2)].
	11. The member's apparent role in the matter under investigation. Were they, for example, under the influence of a higher rank? Were they a victim of circumstances? Have they been adequately dealt with by the criminal courts? Was the member concerned in a supervisory position, which brings with it the necessity to provide an example to more junior members? etc.
	12. The message required to be sent to the police service or wider community. Relevant considerations may include recent events which have impacted upon, or shaped the expectations of the public regarding the professionalism, probity and conduct of police officers.
	13. Cognisance to be paid to the Chief Constable's policy on the circumstances surrounding the discipline incident, eg discrimination, harassment, equal opportunities policy, drink driving.
	14. Any possible or actual legal proceedings—such as a civil action or employment tribunal proceedings.
	15. The need to remove the member from an area, in order to protect witnesses, evidence or the integrity of the investigation.
	16. In criminal cases, whether a prosecution has been initiated against the member concerned or the prospects of a direction to prosecute issuing.
	17. The member's continued credibility to perform police duties, ie give evidence in court, interview suspects or witnesses, or deal with other police matters of a sensitive or delicate nature.
	18. Whether temporary transfer of the member concerned from their normal duties during the formal investigation or pending the outcome of misconduct proceedings, is appropriate and proportionate.
	19. The public interest generally.
	20. The overall interests of the police service.

Speed Cameras

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in the three years prior to the establishment of camera sites in (i) East Belfast and (ii) Castlereagh District Command Unit; and how many have been (A) killed and (B) seriously injured in each year since their establishment.

Shaun Woodward: The fixed safety camera sites at the Upper Newtownards Road (East Belfast DCU) and at the Saintfield Road (Castlereagh DCU) were introduced on 1 July 2003. The number of people (i) killed and (ii) seriously injured at each site for three years prior to their establishment and for each year since are provided in the following tables:.
	
		1. East Belfast DCU Fixed Camera: Upper Newtownards Road
		
			  Killed Seriously injured 
		
		
			 Before   
			 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 0 3 
			 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002 0 3 
			 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 0 1 
			
			 After   
			 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 0 2 
			 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 0 1 
		
	
	
		2. Castlereagh DCU Fixed Camera: Saintfield Road
		
			  Killed Seriously injured 
		
		
			 Before   
			 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 0 1 
			 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002 0 3 
			 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 0 1 
			
			 After   
			 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 0 1 
			 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 0 0

Children's Centres

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres have been established in each year for which figures are available; and how many places have been available at each centre.

Beverley Hughes: Local authorities were asked to start planning the development of children's centres in February 2003 and 67 centres were designated in 2003–04. An additional 163 centres were designated in 2004–05, and we expect a further 600 centres to be designated in 2005–06. Local authorities are still developing plans for children centre delivery for 2006–08, and a breakdown of numbers of centres to be opened in these years is not centrally available. However, by the end of this period we expect 2,500 to be designated.
	Children's centres are expected to reach 650,000 children under the age of five by March 2006. Local authorities should ensure that all families are aware of the services that the children's centre can provide for them. All children's centres will deliver integrated childcare and early learning as part of the core offer.
	The Government intends to develop 3,500 Sure Start children's centres by 2010. This will mean every community in England will have a children centre coordinating a range of integrated services for pre-school children and their parents.

Children's Trusts

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many children's trusts were established in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many local authorities have established children's trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: All local authorities, primary care trusts and their partners are setting up a children's trust in their local area—they are on target to meet the Government's expectation that most areas will have a children's trust by April 2006, and all by 2008. 35 pathfinders and many other local areas have already established their children's trust arrangements, and some 135 local authorities say that their directors of children's services have been or are being appointed.

Employment Training Pilots

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy options will be considered following the Institute of Fiscal Studies evaluation of the work of employment training pilots up to 2004.

Phil Hope: The IPS report covers the first phase of the Employer Training Pilots (ETP) and has highlighted that we need to do more to attract the harder to reach employers. The subsequent phases of the pilots have shown us better how to do this, which has been one of the many real values of the pilots and their evaluation. ETP has also been the subject of an ongoing evaluation by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES). The development of the new national programme, Train to Gain, was based on the lessons learned from these evaluations. The final IES evaluation report is due in the spring, and we will consider the findings of that report alongside the IPS report.
	Skills brokers in Train to Gain will have a target of at least half the employers they engage being "hard to reach", additional employers. We are making £15 million available in 2005–06 and £20 million in 2006–07 to develop the capacity of the brokerage network and implement a performance management system that focuses services on this priority and rewards achievement accordingly.
	A number of evaluations, including the IPS report, have shown that employers identify many benefits from ETP including productivity improvement, changed attitudes to learning, improved motivation and provided employers and employees with a platform for progression. Participating employers were more likely to train their low-skilled staff to the benefit of their business and say that ETP has allowed them to train more people over a shorter period of time. So we are confident that we are already involving more hard-to-reach learners.
	We expect Train to Gain to deliver over 40,000 additional level 2 qualifications in 2006–07; over 140,000 in 2007–08 and, by the time the programme reaches full capacity, 175,000 in 2008–09 and in each year thereafter.

Information Sharing and Assessment Index Project

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's estimate is of the cost of (a) setting up and (b) running the Information Sharing and Assessment Index Project; and how much her Department has (i) spent to date and (ii) plans to spend on consultants and other specialist staff associated with the project.

Beverley Hughes: As announced on 8 December, the estimated set-up costs are £224 million over the next three years. This includes the costs of adapting existing systems that will supply the data to the index and ensuring that data are accurate; adapting the day-to-day systems used by practitioners so they can access the index from those systems; introducing robust arrangements to ensure security, and training staff to use the index properly.
	Estimated operating costs, thereafter, will be £41 million per year. Most of this will pay for the additional staff needed to ensure the ongoing security, accuracy and audit of the index.
	Since the start of the feasibility phase of the index project in February 2004 we have spent around £5 million on consultants and other specialist staff. We expect to spend around a further £15 million on such support between now and the completion of index roll-out in 2008. Developing and implementing large IT-enabled systems is not an area where DfES can rely on employing permanent civil servants to deliver, since we cannot offer the career structure or range of projects that people with the necessary specialist skills will be seeking. There is no alternative approach which will deliver to Government at lower cost the expert people with the skills we need to deliver this project.

Pre-school Provision

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what comparative analysis of the effects of pre-school provision on educational attainment in other countries (a) has been and (b) will be undertaken by the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project.

Beverley Hughes: The Department's Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) study has reported that the EPPE findings are similar to those of research studies in other countries, including the US, Canada, Norway, Germany and New Zealand. The EPPE study uses the same quality measures as in key US studies to facilitate comparisons. It will continue to follow children's development to the end of Key Stage 2, looking at comparisons with international research. Additionally, in 2003, my Department's Early Years and Childcare International Evidence project reported on the relationship of early years programmes to child outcomes.
	This international body of literature shows that early education is especially important for the educational attainment of disadvantaged children, but has positive impacts for all children. Another consistent finding is that integrated early years settings, quality provision and higher staff qualifications are associated with more positive child outcomes.

Sex Offenders

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements her Department has in place to ensure that registered sex offenders seeking employment in schools are considered for being placed on List 99.

Ruth Kelly: My statement, and the accompanying report, of earlier today set out clearly the Government's analysis of, and response to, issues concerning child protection and List 99, together with the action we are currently taking.

Sex Offenders

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance her Department issues to schools on the employment of ex-offenders.

Ruth Kelly: My Department does not issue specific advice in respect of the employment of ex-offenders. The DfES Circular "Child Protection: Preventing Unsuitable People From Working With Children and Young Persons in the Education Service" sets out the procedures schools should follow in deciding whether to appoint staff. It emphasises that decisions must be made on after considering a range of pre-employment checks. It points out that a criminal record does not automatically make an individual unsuitable to work with children.
	The guidance advises prospective employers to consider several factors, including the nature of any offence(s); the length of time since the offence was committed; and the frequency of offending. It emphasises that sexual, violent, or drugs related offences are likely to indicate that someone is unsuitable to work with children, and that recent offences and/or a history of repeated offending are of much more concern than an isolated minor conviction many years ago.

Special Education Needs

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on the provision of special education needs (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of total education spending in each region of England.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is contained within the following table and is for the financial year 2005–06:
	
		
			  Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN(38) (£) Total planned expenditure on SEN transport (£) Total planned educational revenue expenditure (£) Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (excluding SEN transport)(38) as a percentage of total education spending Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN (including SEN transport) as a percentage of total education spending 
			 Region (a) (b) (c) [a/c] [(a+b)/c] 
		
		
			 England 4,120,353,000 499,593,000 31,157,614,000 13.2 14.8 
			 of which:  
			 North East 210,457,000 20,739,000 1,588,695,000 13.2 14.6 
			 North West and Merseyside 569,293,000 70,800,000 4,392,054,000 13.0 14.6 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 382,531,000 42,858,000 3,173,505,000 12.1 13.4 
			 East Midlands 314,149,000 37,814,000 2,619,375,000 12.0 13.4 
			 West Midlands 475,781,000 50,417,000 3,460,564,000 13.7 15.2 
			 Eastern 393,061,000 55,799,000 3,316,037,000 11.9 13.5 
			 South East 676,225,000 96,236,000 4,680,733,000 14.4 16.5 
			 London 749,993,000 90,415,000 5,105,297,000 14.7 16.5 
			 South West 348,864,000 34,515,000 2,821,354,000 12.4 13.6 
		
	
	(38) Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at
	Notes:
	1. Figures are in cash terms as reported by LEAs at 13 January 2006 and rounded to the nearest thousand pounds and may not sum due to rounding. independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, LA functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to local authority maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" and the individual schools budget for special schools. The figures recorded against "notional SEN" are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN. Not included is any budgeted SEN transport expenditure.
	2. The data are taken from local authorities' 2005–06 Section 52 Budget Statements submitted to the DfES.

Staying-on Rates (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average staying-on rate in post-16 education was in Tamworth constituency in each of the past 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The percentage of 16-year-olds in full-time education in England at the end of 2004 was estimated to be 74.2 per cent.—the highest ever rate. Percentage figures on participation in education by young people are not available for parliamentary constituencies, but are available for local authorities— including Staffordshire LEA. These were published in the Statistical First Release "Participation in education and training by 16 and 17-year-olds in each local area in England"—SFR11/2005 on 31 March 2005.
	The publication is accessible on the DfES website via the link, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/index.shtml.
	The specific figures are available through the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/SFR11–2005tables_lea.xls.